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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23914270">Pluto Projector</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/rexsboy/pseuds/rexsboy'>rexsboy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Autumn, Barista Lance (Voltron), Beaches, Best Friends, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Bottom Keith (Voltron), Boys In Love, California, Cliche, Dorks in Love, Dumbasses, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gay Keith (Voltron), Idiots in Love, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, LGBTQ Character, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Love, Love Confessions, Love/Hate, M/M, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Spring, Summer, True Love, Winter, With All My Heart, barista, but thats ok, i love these two, rex orange county, roc - Freeform, they are total dumbasses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 20:01:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>40,604</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23914270</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/rexsboy/pseuds/rexsboy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Named after "Pluto Projector" by Rex Orange County</p><p>Lance McClain has been living in Long Beach, CA for almost 5 years now, working a normal job as a barista at a tourist hotspot. As a hopeless romantic, he wants a cliche Highschool Musical lovestory but he never thought he would be wanting this with the mystery boy who sits at the window everyday at noon. Maybe befriending him won't be so bad afterall</p><p>some bops to vibe to when you read this vv<br/>kl playlist: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuG-fJScTEIPT8fgH739zv3_zDgfUjYXh </p><p>roc playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DWWCWGkYvQApP?si=nShg7CqLRACm7Fx-BMpdNw</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Keith &amp; Lance (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>70</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Face to Face</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hullo ! i am sulli :D i was hella inspired by "Hearts Don't Break Around Here" by @klancekorner and thought I would post mine that I have been dying to post for awhile aAAAaa. all chapters are named after Rex Orange County songs (just like the title) since I basically live off of ROC lmao anyway, more notes at the end !!!!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Shit" is all the tall male said as he left his navy blue apron on the back of a chair, sitting with his two friends who were regulars at the cafe. "His stupid face is distracting, I nearly spilled a drink over Nyma" he growled a bit flustered, trying to refrain from looking at that mystery boy anymore.</p><p>"Lance, relax. He probably didn't even notice. You're just exaggerating" Lance's friend spoke. His friend was dark, a bit taller than Lance, and always wore yellow. "I know, I know, you're right. But did you NOT see that, Hunk? Nyma was pissed, dude. I made a fool of myself" Lance whined, burying his face in his hands in embarrassment.</p><p>"Of course you did, you're Lance," a young girl who was sitting with them said, her gaze staying on her cellphone "besides, she's way out of your league. Like every girl you like." She finally looked up, a bit unamused. "You're very helpful, Pidge" Lance shot back, wrinkling his nose a bit. His ocean blue eyes continued to dart back and forth from the conversation with his friends and to the boy. The boy who always sat at the window at noon and always ordered a black coffee whenever he did serious work. A few minutes go by and Lance's watch buzzes, reminding him that his break is over. "Will I see you gargoyles at my place later ?" Lance asked in a bit of a teasing tone, a smirk gracing his pink lips. "Sure, same time as last week ?" Pidge asked, getting up and grabbing a backpack that was on the back of her chair.</p><p>"Obviously. You need to study, ma'am"</p><p>"Just give me the answers. I don’t care anymore"</p><p>"Nope! You need to study."</p><p>"Ok, mom." Pidge teased, her eyes heavy-lidded as always. She was a bit younger than both Hunk and Lance. She only became their friend since she worked with Hunk at a diner somewhere in Long Beach.</p><p>Lance went back to work, making a few drinks before getting caught off guard once more. The mystery boy was in line probably ordering the same thing. Lance was caught in a trance, letting the blender run as he watched him. Pale skin, jet black hair, a stupid purple bandaid on his cheek and the prettiest eyes ever. They were the same colour as the galaxy. Mixes of purple, violet and navy blue made them so eye-catching. Allura, his coworker, handed him an order and he got straight to work as soon as he could, occasionally glancing at the boy. Once he finished his order, he looked at the receipt and repeated the name in his head.</p><p>'Keith.'</p><p>What a weird name.</p><p>'Please don't fuck it up, please don't fuck it up, please-'</p><p>"Keith ?" Lance called out, almost not realizing he was at the pick-up counter already.</p><p>Almost as if it were magic, the boy was already in front of him, staring at the barista a bit confused. Lance looked back with almost the same reaction. Trying to break this awkward silence, he cleared his throat and smirked a bit,</p><p>"Hey" is all that came out of Lance's mouth</p><p>Keith cocked an eyebrow a bit unamused, looking the barista up and down. He was pretty cute. His caramel skin, those freckles that were splattered across the bridge of his nose and beyond, and those damn eyes. They were like the ocean. Keith snapped out of his reality and finally spoke in his shy, low voice.</p><p>"That's my order" Keith deadpanned. He wasn't into the flirting.</p><p>"Right, sorry" Lance smiled nervously, handing him the coffee</p><p>They stared at each other for another second or two and Keith broke the silence again,</p><p>"Uhm, thanks?"</p><p>"Wha.. oh yeah! No problem! Enjoy your drink!"</p><p>Lance went back to making a few drinks, but not easily. He felt as if he were going to have a panic attack. His heart was pumping, his stomach was fluttering, it was hard to breathe.</p><p>'That's my order'</p><p>Keith's voice was insanely fitting for him. It made him seem pretty intimidating for such a short guy. Lance's face flushed a bright pink every time he thought about Keith or even looked at him for the rest of his shift.</p><p>x</p><p>Lance walked to his condo, only a few minutes away from the cafe. He had his phone in hand and was texting Pidge and Hunk, making sure they were still going to stop by so they could help Pidge study and hopefully get to complain about his encounter with Keith. He climbed up eight flights of stairs, tiredly opening the gray door and leaving his keys on the counter and his jacket on the coat rack. He took off his shoes and went to sit on the ancient brown couch that sat in his living room. The place was illuminated by string lights, the baby blue colour of the walls along with the photographs of his family made it feel like home. He relaxed for a moment, then decided it would be best to prepare for his guests. Lance got up and walked to the small kitchen. He made popcorn since Hunk would probably make something sweet out of boredom or experimentation.</p><p>Pidge and Hunk finally invaded Lance's apartment. They all sat down at Lance's tiny dinner table for a minute and talked for a bit about their game-plan to help Pidge study. Lance did end up pulling out a few answer sheets from his American History classes when he was a junior in college. Pidge dug her fist into the bowl of popcorn, stuffing her stressed baby face with the buttery mess as she reviewed all her questions.</p><p>"Pssst, Pigeon. Hunk and I are gonna be on the balcony if you need our parental guidance, alrighty ?" Lance teased with a smirk, pinching Pidge's cheeks almost as if to support the 'parental guidance' part of his sentence.</p><p>"Piss off, Havana. I'm 19," she fought back, slapping Lance's hand away.</p><p>"You're still a baby to us"</p><p>"Fuck off" Pidge groaned, a bit stressed from the work in front of her.</p><p>Lance and Hunk stood on the balcony, resting their elbows on the railing and looking out over Long Beach, California. "So," Lance started, stretching his arms above his head to release tension. "I talked to that stupid mullet boy today," he said sounding a bit annoyed, although the blush was showing through his freckles, making them pop out a bit more.</p><p>"Oh boy, was it bad? Tell me what happened?"</p><p>"He was so," Lance stopped to look for the right word, "quiet.'</p><p>"Gonna make a move on him? Or are you still going to try and ask out Nyma?"</p><p>"I don't like that dumb boy like that!" Lance snapped back, furrowing his eyebrows a bit.</p><p>"Lance, you're the worst liar ever." Hunk chuckled.</p><p>Lance whined, his face heating up, "Ok, he was pretty! So what? I don't have a chance with him."</p><p>"You do, don't let your anxiety get in the way, dude."</p><p>"Too late"</p><p>"How about you ask for this number first? Be his friend," Hunk suggested, smiling to himself.</p><p>Lance shrugged a bit hopeless, "I dunno, man. I'll give it a shot and see where it takes me? Should I sit with him tomorrow during my break?"</p><p>"Give it a shot, dude." Hunk told him, using what Lance had just said.</p><p>"Ok, but you two need to be there so I don't fuck up, got it ?" Lance asked him, wrinkling his nose a bit but not being able to hold back a giddy smile. A part of him was kind of excited about that. Talking to Keith. The other part was flooding with the worst possible outcomes and scenarios.</p><p>'What if he thinks you're annoying? You piece of shit, he was disgusted by you today. Just give up already. Stupid, stupid, stupid.'</p><p>Lance and Hunk walked back inside after their short little talk, finding Pidge a bit more upset at the papers and books surrounding her. She seemed like she was going to burst into a crying fit or a fire-starting marathon. The rest of the night was just calming down their friend with facemasks, snacks, and movies. Lance always seemed to have a facemask for any problem. But it was no surprise, especially since he was always so well-kept. The more they messed around, the later it got and eventually, Lance convinced them to stay the night since it was too dangerous to drive around this late.</p><p>XX</p><p>Morning came quick and Lance was rushing to get ready. He cleaned his face, brushed his hair to look decent, dressed casually and bolted out the front door with his keys, backpack, and dark blue hoodie from college. He took the elevator and jogged the rest of the way to the cafe. He got to the door and greeted his coworkers, a few people were there waiting for their orders since they had been open since 6. After all, it was a Monday.</p><p>Lance worked hard, cleaning tables, making drinks, and taking orders. As soon as it got a bit empty around noon, Lance noticed him at the window. He took a deep breath and took off his apron, checking his watch before going over to the small table. He slowly walked, his heartbeat quickening every second he got closer to Keith. Lance put his hand on the empty seat without realizing he was already there. He found himself looking up at Keith with a smirk,</p><p>"Is this seat taken?" Lance asked, tilting his head slightly.</p><p>Keith looked up from his laptop and furrowed his eyebrows a bit confused. He admired the boy who was there in front of him, feeling his cheeks heat up a bit. The caramel boy. He even smelt like caramel. Keith studied his freckles and a mole on his neck, almost getting lost in a trance. His teeth were perfect and his lips were a very light red. The way one corner of his mouth cocked up made his stomach churn, but in a good way. Keith blinked to the real world and thought for a minute, thoughts rushing through his head once more.</p><p>"No," Keith said quietly, watching as Lance sat down in front of him.</p><p>Lance sighed in relief and looked Keith up and down with a soft smile, "The names Lance, but my friends call me Loverboy or Mr. Havana" he said, his anxiety racing through his body as he had almost no control over what he was going to say next.</p><p>Keith stared at him, still pretty unamused. "Do you," Keith raised an eyebrow, "need something from me ?" the pale boy tilted his head as the question slid out off his tongue a bit gracefully.</p><p>Lance sat there a bit frozen, looking over to where Hunk and Pidge usually sit for reassurance, but they weren't there. He looked back at Keith and panicked a bit as he watched those gorgeous purple eyes study him all over. Lance took a deep breath and then slid a hand through his hair a bit carelessly, "Are you free tonight ?" he asked without even thinking.</p><p>'Great job, idiot. Now you gotta think of a place, quick. You can't take him to your place, that'll be creepy'</p><p>Lance's thoughts stared flooding with insults all directed towards him. He only had a few seconds to think because Keith responded almost immediately without hesitation.</p><p>"Yeah."</p><p>Lance's face lit up a bit and he smiled, "There's a new ride on Santa Monica Pier tonight. I was wondering if you would like to come with me" he muttered the last part a bit, feeling a bit nervous.</p><p>Keith closed his laptop slowly and put his full attention on Lance. He stared into the other's eyes, feeling like he was falling down a rabbit hole of a feeling he had only felt when he was drunk. Lance's eyes were the colour of the deep ocean. They were dark, but it was very noticeable that they were a strong blue. Keith smiled at him a bit hesitantly and nodded a bit, "Sure. Give me your number and I'll see you there at 8 ?"</p><p>Lance's heart skipped a beat and he fumbled for his phone, he gave it to Keith and Lance took Keith's. They each put their contact information into each other's phone, Lance smiling contently as he put his phone away. Lance got up from the table and checked his watch, knowing it was time to get back to work. "Let's find each other at the ticket booth?" he asked Keith while he grabbed his apron and began to put it on. Keith nodded, a soft smile dancing on his lips. It fits him.</p><p>X</p><p>Keith went home not long after Lance got back to work and trotted home satisfied. He had scored a date with the cute barista. Keith took an Uber home, going to the doorstep with his backpack hauled over his shoulder. "Shiro, Adam. You guys home ?" Keith called out as he closed the front door behind him.</p><p>"Yeah, we're in the kitchen," A low male voice called out to Keith.</p><p>Another voice followed after, "More like I am, Takashi."</p><p>Keith left his backpack next to the coat rack and rolled up the sleeves on his hoodie. He pranced over to grab an apple and washed it, biting into it soon after and placing himself on top of a counter, "What are you making ?" Keith asked a bit curiously.</p><p>"Just some mac and cheese. Your brother and I are going out later tonight" Adam told him with a bit of a smile, pushing his rectangular glasses up on his nose.</p><p>"Neat, I am too," Keith said a bit blandly.</p><p>Adam looked at Keith a bit surprised, "Takashi, Keith's got a date" he called out to his spouse. Shiro stumbled into the kitchen just as confused.</p><p>"With who? The biker dude you met while drunk? You know I don't like it when you hook up with people when you're drunk," Shiro began to lecture Keith like the fatherly-figure he was.</p><p>Keith groaned and rolled his eyes, "No. I don't even remember that guy" he shot back, furrowing his eyebrows a bit. "His name's Lance. He's a barista at Altean Cafe. We're going to Santa Monica Pier tonight" Keith told them, taking another bite from the apple in his hand.</p><p>Adam turned around, wooden spoon in hand. He crossed his arms and looked at Keith, "What does he look like?" Adam asked, looking at Shiro to see if he was also paying attention.</p><p>"Well for starters, he's cute. He has dark skin, kind of like you, Adam. He smells like caramel from a mile away. It's so disgusting. Like how does somebody manage to smell so sweet? It's gotta be unhealthy-"</p><p>"Keith" Shiro cut him off, crossing his arms too.</p><p>The pale boy sighed and continued, "He has a buttload of freckles, his teeth are straighter than I am, his ears are massive, and he has these eyes that just," Keith stops, thinking for a moment almost as if he were frozen. He looks up at the two men standing there in the kitchen, obviously intrigued. Keith takes a bit of the apple, "Stupid, pretty, blue eyes." he says quietly, feeling his face get a bit warm. "And on top of ALL that he still has to do that stupid smirk he did when we first saw each other face-to-face," Keith complained. Keith was pretty excited for tonight but wasn't sure what he had signed up for. This boy was beyond gorgeous, he wasn't sure how he was going to hold up all night.</p><p>Adam and Shiro looked at each other pretty shocked. Adam looked at Keith and seemed even more confused, "You have never liked anybody remotely like what you just described to us" Adam pointed out. "Are you feeling ok? This is not normal," the tall male made his way to Keith and put a hand on his forehead in a teasing manner. Keith slapped his hand away out of instinct and snarled a bit, "I'm fine" he snapped back a bit annoyed. Keith sighed to calm himself down and looked at Shiro and Adam, "I just feel like I know him from somewhere," Keith sounded a bit upset when he finished his sentence. He did want to dress nice for this boy so he might as well get a head start.</p><p>Wait, what was Keith thinking? He did NOT like this boy, so why was he making such a huge deal about looking presentable. Besides, it was a night out, not a date. They were just acquaintances right now, not even friends. They literally met each other at a cafe, there was no way this could last. But a part of Keith felt a bit hopeful, considering Shiro asked Adam out in a McDonald's bathroom and suddenly they’ve been married for almost 4 years now. Keith knew he was going to be a disaster already.</p><p>X</p><p>Lance's shift ended at 6 and he began to get ready. He wore a baggy baby blue shirt with the Rugrats logo slapped on it and ripped jeans that were cuffed at the bottom. He looked at himself in the mirror behind his bedroom door and made a few adjustments such as tucking in his shirt and fixing his belt multiple times. Once he was happy with himself in the mirror, he reached onto his dresser for a bottle of cologne and sprayed a bit on himself, feeling slightly more confident than a few seconds ago.</p><p>He still had a bit of time left, so he sat on his couch and texted his group chat with Pidge and Hunk.</p><p> </p><p>[Shrek, Donkey, and Farquad]</p><p>theonceler: guysguysguysguys<br/>
theonceler: answer meeee<br/>
theonceler: please :(((<br/>
theonceler: THIS !!! IS !!! URGENT !!!!!</p><p>hunkonabunk: dude calm down</p><p>pidgeotto: yeh tf is yr problem &gt;:V</p><p>theonceler: first off, u guys suck n weren't there to back me up today<br/>
theonceler: second<br/>
theonceler: guess who got a date tonight :))))</p><p>pidgeotto: impossible</p><p>hunkonabunk: what !! congrats bro :D<br/>
hunkonabunk: is it who I think it is ????</p><p>theonceler: bet your ass it is</p><p>pidgeotto: so r u two dumbasses gonna tell me or what.<br/>
pidgeotto: u both always keep secrets from me</p><p>theonceler: yeah cause u always gag whenever we talk about love in front of u like yr sum toddler</p><p>pidgeotto: fuck off, who is it</p><p>theonceler: well, long story short. I have the mystery boy's number :)</p><p>pidgeotto: u mean the guy who looks like your crush from college ?</p><p>theonceler: he does not &gt;:O<br/>
Theonceler: but yes.</p><p>pidgeotto: hm<br/>
pidgeotto: well good luck<br/>
pidgeotto: we're not helping u :P</p><p>hunkonabunk: dude be nice :(</p><p>theonceler: I'm hurt, Katie :,,(</p><p>pidgeotto: don't ever call me Katie again</p><p>theonceler: why Katie ?</p><p>*pidgeotto has left the chat*</p><p>hunkonabunk: I'll add her back later<br/>
hunkonabunk: but congrats ! I'm proud :)</p><p>theonceler: thank u &lt;3<br/>
theonceler: well, I'm gonna head out so please excuse me my good fellow</p><p>hunkonabunk: good luck bro ! tell us everything afterwards !</p><p>XX</p><p>It's a 30-minute drive to get from Long Beach to Santa Monica, so it's nothing bad. Lance couldn't believe it was already 8 pm. It was almost time to see Keith. Lance couldn't get his mind off of him the entire ride. He even tried to play some music to distract himself and it worked for a minute until the songs started singing about love. It was frustrating but it put Lance in a giddy mood nonetheless.</p><p>Lance parked in a good spot and made his way onto the pier. It was always filled with freaks, weirdos, and tourists at night, but it wasn't anything bad. It was still a Monday night. Lance made his way to the ticket booth and saw Keith waiting there, looking around with his hands in his pockets. Lance immediately felt bad that he didn't get there earlier. He really hoped that Keith didn't have to wait a long time. He walked up to Keith with the dumbest smile on his face and waved at him, feeling his cheeks warm up a bit. "Hey," Lance greeted like he did with their first encounter as he stood in front of Keith.</p><p>Keith looked at him and felt his stomach flutter again. He smiled back, "Hey." The two looked at each other for an awkward amount of time and then Keith broke the silence. It seemed like that was his thing,</p><p>"I don't think I properly introduced myself. I'm Keith. Keith Kogane. I take it your name isn't Loverboy?" Keith joked, hoping to get to know this boy more. He really did like him, even if he was way out of his comfort zone.</p><p>Lance noticed he was staring and stopped himself, shaking his head with a soft laugh, "Lance McClain. I'm from Arizona but moved here for college a few years back."</p><p>"Neat," Keith responded, "I'm from South Korea."</p><p>"Really? That seems pretty far."</p><p>"It is."</p><p>There was a bit of silence,</p><p>"I'm new to this part of California, actually. I lived near Venice Beach a few years back so I don’t really know this place. Mind showing me what's so great about Santa Monica Pier ?" Keith asked, fixing his hair in the moonlight.</p><p>The two walked around the pier, skipping the attraction rides and checking out the arcade, the small vendors, a restaurant and ultimately the beach. Lance bought them swim trunks to wear on the beach. Lance always went to the beach, sometimes without warning like this, so he was prepared and had towels in his trunk. They were both a bit tipsy from a few beers they had not long ago, Lance being the most out of it. Lance and Keith both changed into their swim trunks and walked around the beach together, shoes in hand. They both looked up at the stars and Lance smiled a bit,</p><p>“You can see Jupiter,” he pointed out, his finger laying right where his eyes were looking.</p><p>Keith followed Lance’s hand and nodded, sobering up a bit. “Yeah. It looks nice tonight,” Keith spoke a bit quietly, one hand in his pocket. </p><p>Lance giggled and looked at Keith, “Y’know, my dumb lil friend is studying astronomy and it’s cute. She thinks she knows more about the solar system than a third grader,” he snorts, “Shit, she could easily pass as one. She’s as tall as one” Lance broke into a laughing fit, Keith not really understanding but laughing along anyway.</p><p>Lance’s laugh sounded like music. </p><p>It was sweet.</p><p>He was certain he recognized it.</p><p>Keith snapped out of his trance and stopped walking, looking at Lance with a sigh. “Well,” he started, “It’s getting late and uhm, you’re still drunk” Keith pointed out. </p><p>Lance shook his head, “Pffft, what ? No, I’m fine” his words were a bit slurred, obviously not convincing Keith.</p><p>“I’ll call you and Uber so you can get home safe” Keith huffed, taking out his phone. He paused when he felt Lance’s hand rest on his wrist. It was warm and visibly larger than Keith’s. The pale boy looked up a bit confused but the other male gave him the same expression, his face a bit flustered from the alcohol. Lance swallowed and then spoke, “No, don’t” his voice sounded a bit shaky, “I can call my own, don’t worry about me” he smiled.</p><p>Keith already felt every need to take care of this boy. He wanted to make sure he was safe and happy at every moment and he had barely just met him. It’s ridiculous. Keith sighed and swatted Lance’s hand away gently. “Fine” he said quietly, “But I really need to go. My brother will kill me” Keith told him. He turned his head up to look at Lance and saw him pout. He recognized it. The small curve of his lips facing downwards, his eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly. Keith studied his face for what felt like forever.</p><p>‘I swear I’ve seen that face anywhere.’</p><p>He blinked hard a few times and waited for Lance’s stupid pout to disappear or something. Lance stood back a bit and looked down at the sand beneath their feet, “Could you stay a bit longer?” he asked quietly, “Of course, you don’t have to! If you’re gonna get in trouble, you should go.” Lance started to ramble a bit anxiously, tugging at his shirt to stop from biting his nails or scratching himself. </p><p>Keith recognized that voice, now. That soft, scared, shaky voice. He stood up straight and crossed his arms, “You said you went to college here, right ?”</p><p>Lance looked up and nodded a bit hesitant.</p><p>“What college?”</p><p>“Garrison University”</p><p>“What year did you graduate?”</p><p>“Class of 2017-2018.”</p><p>Keith seemed a bit surprised. That’s why he remembered his voice. He remembers the annoying third year in his class who always whined about getting a bad grade and goofed off. He vividly remembers this is the guy who would stare at him across the library as if they were sworn enemies. He ran a hand through his hair as he tried to process the information he just heard. </p><p>“You were that annoying kid who yelled too much in our Astronomy class” Keith spoke blandly.</p><p>Lance blinked a few times, a bit confused, but quickly knowing what he was talking about. </p><p>“Oh that’s how I recognized your stupid face!”</p><p>“My face isn’t stupid”</p><p>“It totally is! You made me spill a drink over this hot chick at the cafe!”</p><p>“I’m sorry how is that my fault?” </p><p>Keith was a bit upset. Just like he expected, this night out was going bad. Keith immediately regretted bringing up that he knew Lance. </p><p>It was silent as Lance tried to calm himself down. Keith spoke,</p><p>“If you hate my face so much why did you even bother to invite me out tonight?” he asked, visibly upset and annoyed. “I’m going home.” </p><p>“Fine! You made a good choice!” Lance called out as Keith walked to the entrance of the beach through the sand. He didn’t look back once but he knew that Lance was staring at him the entire time.</p><p>Lance groaned, his heart aching already and it had only been a few hours spent with this boy. Lance McClain deserved a medal. A big fat shiney medal that shows how much of a jackass he is. He sat in the sand, ignorning how he felt it in his trunks. He listened to the people laughing from afar and pouted. He ruined it. He ruined it all.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Never Had the Balls</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Never Had the Balls by Rex Orange County</p><p>Lance finds out that he's not getting his cliche love story like he wanted and finds himself falling for Keith even more.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So I might start naming some chapters after Tyler, the Creator songs too 'cause I listened to every ROC song in existence hbvfhjfjhfhj so uHm yeah ahdhahdh</p><p>lookit the end more notes</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next morning.</p><p>Lance doesn’t work on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, so he was pretty relieved when he woke up. Of course, his throbbing headache wasn’t helping and he barely remembered what happened last night other than the fight with his date.</p><p>His date.</p><p>He sat up slowly and looked around for his phone on his wrinkled bedsheets, wanting to text Keith an apology. Lance picked up his phone, still pretty tired from the night before but felt a wave of guilt rush over him again. Lance rubbed his eyes gently and looked around his room, upset. He didn't know if he even wanted to text Keith. He probably didn't want to think about Lance right now and that was pretty fair. It was all Lance's fault their 'date' had gone so terrible. </p><p>All his fault.</p><p>The thoughts raced to his mind again and he quickly shut them out. Lance took a deep breath for a second and instinctively texted his group chat. They seemed like they could help even at these ungodly hours of 9 in the morning.</p><p>[Shrek, Donkey, and Farquad]</p><p>theonceler: guys I'm in DEEP now hhhhhh</p><p>A few minutes go by and no answer.</p><p>hunkonabunk: wait what happened?<br/>
hunkonabunk: did the date go good?</p><p>theonceler: no :( I ruined it again</p><p>hunkonabunk: lance please stop blaming yourself.</p><p>theonceler: dude I mean. I really did fuck this up.</p><p>hunkonabunk: are u guys still talking ?</p><p>theonceler: IDK man. I got drunk last night, he said something to me and I think I said something back and he stormed out.</p><p>hunkonabunk: oh that's not good.<br/>
hunkonabunk: did u try and kiss him ? or did u insult him ?</p><p>theonceler: dude I don't remember that well, I just remember him say something like 'if u hate me so much why did u even invite me'<br/>
theonceler: just<br/>
theonceler: fuck bro.<br/>
theonceler: should I message him?</p><p>hunkonabunk: totally. tell him your sorry, maybe he'll understand ?</p><p>theonceler: what if he never comes back to altean all because of me.</p><p>hunkonabunk: dude, don't think about that.<br/>
hunkonabunk: you guys got this<br/>
hunkonabunk: plus I feel like he's going to forgive u pretty easily</p><p>theonceler: Idk<br/>
theonceler: I'll give it a try but if he doesn't accept it then I fucked it all up like I did with Nyma, Allura, Romelle. The list goes on.</p><p>hunkonabunk: just take a breather. if you get too anxious, count to 10 real slowly dude. like my mum taught us</p><p>theonceler: I know I know.</p><p>hunkonabunk: gotta get back to my shift, I'll have Pidge check the chat so she can help ok ?</p><p>theonceler: thanks, buddy. take care</p><p>hunkonabunk: u too.</p><p>X</p><p>Keith woke up around 11 am. The sky was grey and the wind was breezing past his bedroom window. He looked around his room, still thinking about the night before. He knew it was a mistake to go out with him. Keith felt so stupid for thinking this guy liked him. Shiro barged into the room, startling the occupant who was half-asleep. Keith brought the blanket up to his chest to cover his body and watched as Shiro sat on the edge of the bed.</p><p>"Morning," he said.</p><p>Keith made a low hum as if to say it back.</p><p>"Wanna go to work with me today?"</p><p>The pale boy cocked his head to the side, a bit confused. Shiro worked at an Animal Shelter and Keith volunteered sometimes since he was having a hard time finding a good job. He usually tagged along with Shiro and would hang out with the animals or just stay in the breakroom. Keith thought for a minute and then realized he would avoid the cafe. His heart ached. But yet he wasn't sure why he nodded. </p><p>Shiro got up and pat Keith on the shoulder, "Then come on," he said, "They don't allow shirtless kids to hang around there" Shiro chuckled, grabbing his brother's shirt from the floor and throwing it at him.</p><p>He left the room and Keith cursed a bit under his breath out of annoyance. What a grumpy man. He slithered on his black t-shirt and got out of bed, still wearing his jeans from the night before. Keith said morning quietly and Adam gave his usual response of a loud, enthusiastic, chirpy greeting. At this point, one morning would feel incomplete without it. Keith had been living with the couple before they even got married. </p><p>He sat down in front of the plate of food already on the table and ate it quickly. Keith didn't realize how hungry he was. But it made sense since he and Lance mainly drank and only had a burger last night.</p><p>Lance.</p><p>There he goes, thinking of that asshole again. </p><p>Keith furrowed his eyebrows and ran a hand through his tangled and matted hair out of frustration. His mum used to do that whenever he got upset. She would run her finger down his nose gently and brush his short, choppy, hair at the time to calm him down. Keith relaxed, not realizing how tense he was. He hated himself for thinking of Lance, but it couldn't be helped. His sun-kissed face, the constellation of freckles, his eyes, the stupid smile and straight teeth.</p><p>The pout from last night and before was embedded into Keith's memory. Now he couldn't look at him the same. Maybe Keith shouldn't have said anything about knowing him. Maybe then everything would've gone smoothly.</p><p>Ironically, Shiro spoke, "So," he started, "How was the date?"</p><p>Keith tensed up once again, really not wanting to remember the night before. Adam's eyes were on him now too.</p><p>"Oh yeah," he said, almost forgetting, "Come on, was it bad?"</p><p>The pale boy felt upset, hoping his face wasn't showing it. Keith shrugged, still eating his breakfast made up of eggs and leftover syrup from the waffles that helped decorate the plate earlier. </p><p>"It was ok."</p><p>"Just ok?"</p><p>Keith nodded silently.</p><p>"You know if it went bad you can talk to us, right?"</p><p>He nodded again.</p><p>The kitchen fell into a silence, the only thing being heard was more eggs being made. Shiro looked to Adam and all his spouse did in return was shake his head. Shiro got up and put his plate in the sink, kissing Adam and thanking him for the food. Keith rolled his eyes.</p><p>Shiro walked over and pat Keith's shoulder, "I'll be waiting in the car. Don't be long because I need to go into work in a few." Keith nodded, finishing his food quickly and putting it in the sink. Before he left, he gave Adam this secret handshake they worked out together when he used to babysit Keith. It was their sign of being long time friends.</p><p>Keith grabbed his hoodie, slipped on his shoes and ran to the car. He closed the passenger door and buckled up, Shiro looking up from his phone. </p><p>"I know something went wrong last night."</p><p>Keith stayed silent for a second and shook his head, "It's none of your business."</p><p>Of course, Keith would do that, he always shut people out when he was upset. When his father died, nobody was there to comfort him. His mum had disappeared back to Korea after an argument with her husband before he died. She was declared missing for years. In all those years, Keith could never open up to somebody without the fear of losing them too. </p><p>"If you say so," Shiro said skeptically.</p><p> </p><p>XX</p><p> </p><p>Days pass, and then it turns into weeks. It's almost been a month since Lance heard from Keith and vice versa. Lanced dreaded going to work because every time he would look over to where Keith was, his seat was taken by a stranger or empty. He was never there. Lance knew it was all his fault. He did this and he ruined what could have been the beginning of a good friendship. His stomach turned into a knot, his anxiety began to stab at his sides and he felt cold. Lance quickly washed his hands and took off his apron, going on break and sitting down with Pidge and Hunk.</p><p>Pidge's feet were on the table, she was leaning back in her chair, dangerously balanced. Hunk looked and looked a bit worried at Lance, "Hey, you ok dude?" he asked, knowing Lance could break down at any moment. He nodded quietly, running a hand through his hair nervously. Hunk raised a hand to his friends forehead and he was burning up, "Woah, you should probably go home. You look like you're going to vomit and cry."</p><p>Pidge looked up from her phone and raised an eyebrow at Lance, "Dude, calm down." </p><p>"How the hell do I calm down?"</p><p>"Stop thinking about him, duh."</p><p>"Katie, I CAN'T! Do you not get it? Whenever I do, I go straight back like magnet."</p><p>"Stop calling me Katie" she growled</p><p>Lance looked down at the table and sighed in defeat, "I think I'm just gonna go home. I don't feel well. I'm gonna talk to Allura since I have a lot of sick days," Lance said as he got up, walking towards the counter and waiting for the owner.</p><p> </p><p>XXX</p><p> </p><p>Shiro and Keith were on a break, walking around near Altean Cafe and the area in general. They went to grab boba tea and just enjoy the smell of the ocean outside especially since Altean was super close to the beach. The two talked about a game plan for dog-walking and feeding since Shiro wanted Keith to be more active in the shelter. </p><p>"So, you'll walk Daisy and Jemma, I'll do Tyler and Rocky for the first half and then we switch. Then after that, we go and grab Kosmo and Wanda. Maybe we'll have time to walk the cats today and maybe go with the chickens and horses."</p><p>"Sounds like a plan. I call Kosmo, though. We're each other's favourites," Keith smiled gently, feeling a bit relieved.</p><p>Shiro looked around while they walked and looked into the window of a shop, stopping and recognizing a dark green hoodie that said 'MATTHEW HOLT' on the back of it. Keith stopped with him, looking into the store knowing exactly where they were.</p><p>Outside of Altean Cafe.</p><p>Keith felt a wave of anxiety rush over him as Shiro grabbed his arm gently, "Let's go say hi to Matt. I haven't seen him in years" Shiro said. Keith slapped his hand away and shook his head.</p><p>"We already have drinks, though, remember?"</p><p>"We're not going to get anything, we're just gonna say hi. Keith, he's a longtime friend, let me have this. I remember you and his little sister knew each other when Adam looked over you two. She was just a baby though, so she probably doesn't remember you."</p><p>Keith's heart ached but he gave in. Maybe Lance wouldn't be there today. A little part of him hoped he did but the other part made his stomach churn with anxiety. What if Lance got mad? Technically,  Lance could pretty much kick them out of the cafe if he wanted to. Shiro dragged his brother to the door and opened it, walking into the cafe. </p><p>The familiar smell of coffee, perfume and baked goods made Keith feel welcomed. The chatter of people was almost so normal it felt like it was all tape-recorded and played over and over again. Keith looked around for Lance a bit panicked. Shiro walked up to the blonde person wearing the hoodie and smiled, grabbing their shoulder gently. </p><p>Pidge turned around a bit confused and tilted her head, "Do I know you?" she asked, taking her feet off the table and sitting normally. She took a hard look at Shiro and then gasped, "Oh shit! Shiro!" Pidge smiled, getting up and shaking his hand. Shiro was just as surprised at Pidge was.</p><p>"Hey!" he said with a wider smile, "We thought you were Matt so we dropped by to say hi and catch up but this is great! You're so big now" Shiro laughed, remembering the last time she saw her was when she started to talk. "Yeah, Matt's at home. He's sick" Pidge told him, "I'll definitely tell him we bumped into each other. You should give him a text and see how he's doing. Didn't you last see him at your wedding like 2 years back?"</p><p>"Yeah," Shiro smiled sheepishly. "I hope he gets better though. We miss him a lot."</p><p>Pidge tilted her head, constantly hearing 'we'. Was he referring to him and Adam? Then she noticed a skinny dark looming figure next to him, a good 7 inches shorter than Shiro. It definitely wasn't Adam. Pidge took a good hard look and-</p><p>It was the mystery boy.</p><p>The short blonde girl looked at Shiro and then at Keith. "Who's this?" she asked, really wanting to make sure it was him. Shiro looked at his brother who was awfully silent. "This is Keith, my brother. You two used to hang out a lot but you were like a newborn" Shiro chuckled. </p><p>Lance walked out of Allura's office, hanging up his apron before leaving from behind the counter to tell Hunk and Pidge he got the rest of today and tomorrow off to feel better. He stopped once he put his apron up, trying to see whom Pidge was talking to. That was odd, she never really talked to anybody. Maybe she knew him? The tall boy pranced over while Pidge introduced Hunk and used Pidge's head as an armrest.</p><p>He looked at the taller male with visibly gray hair and smiled, "Hi! I'm Lance, Pidgeotto's friend. I don't think we've met" Lance's eyes trailed as he looked to Shiro's side and saw a face of horror, feeling his expression turning the same. </p><p>Keith.</p><p>Lance tensed up and Pidge and Shiro looked back and forth, knowing exactly what was going on.</p><p>Keith's brain flooded with memories and Lance did the exact same. He remembered how fun it all was until their little argument. Lance truly thought he would never see Keith again, but to his horror, that didn't seem to be the case. Keith's eyebrows were furrowed, his eyes wide and his shoulders extremely tense. Shiro cleared the awkward silence by clearing his throat,</p><p>"Well, Pidge. It was very nice seeing you again after years. Tell Matt he'll be expecting a call from Adam, Keith, and I."</p><p>"Will do, Star Command," Pidge saluted a bit silly.</p><p>Shiro laughed and nudged Keith with his elbow as if telling him to say something. Keith broke out of his trance as well and blinked a bit, "Nice to see you too, Pidge." </p><p>Lance's heart tore in half while Keith ignored him completely. Shiro and Pidge shared one last goodbye before Shiro and Keith left, Keith didn't look back once. Lance looked down at Pidge in awe.</p><p>"You KNEW Keith?" </p><p>"Yeah, when I wasn't able to process memories, Dickwad. I don't even know who he is" Pidge told Lance smacking his arm off her head finally.</p><p>Hunk sat there a bit in amazement too, "Lance, that was super awkward, dude."</p><p>Lance groaned as he picked up his backpack and slid on his hoodie, "I know. He probably still hates me. This is the first time I've seen him in almost a month, man."</p><p>Hunk got up and pat Lance's back, "Come on, let's head home. You look even worse"</p><p>Lance nodded, "Yeah."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>unexpected right ? ;)</p><p>insta<br/>main/cosplay - pxniniiii<br/>art - abbachio.travels.the.internet<br/>tikto - pxnini</p><p> funfact: this is based on a roleplay a friend and I are still doing except with a bit more twist n junk lol my other friend is helping me with writers block and ideas on what to do next but this time I kinda improvisedd hhhhh sorry toe te amo :) she gave me the whole idea to kind of dodge the cliches because cliche is what Lance wants. so ya'll should go check her our on insta (@toe_dumb)</p><p>+also sorry this one wasn't as long as the last chapter hhhh its lke 7am right now</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Loving Is Easy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Loving Is Easy - Rex Orange County</p><p>Keith finally comes around and stops ignoring the pretty boy. A little apology is exchanged but are they really cool with eachother with these lovey-dovey fillings making their stomachs churn around eachother ?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>woAH this one took me awhile to write cus i'm a little slow hfhfhhjsjsj<br/>i've been upset about my 8th grade graduation being cancelled so i have been super inactive. school ends on the 15th for me so once the 15th rolls around, i'll be a bit more active on updating this. i hope i can go for 13 chapters or more ? also i reccomend you listen to the song the chapter is named after (or just anything by ROC djhshdhds)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Garrison University.<br/>
Astronomy</p><p>Keith Kogane sat in the back of the class, taking notes as he looked up at the board from far away. Every time he had a few seconds to spare while writing notes, he would draw the solar system on his paper. Pluto was his favourite planet, even though it was no longer declared a planet. Keith had his headphones plugged in, listening to music. It usually helped him concentrate better. Everything was well until a figure barged through the door, scrambling to get a seat.</p><p>"Late again, McClain," the professor's voice boomed.</p><p>The whole class turned to watch him get adjusted in his seat, leaning back in his chair a little, "Sorry," Lance pouted a bit, taking out his notes. Keith's eyes stayed on Lance and examined his pout a bit annoyed. That dumb third year, always late. The only reason Lance had made it into a class with older students was by complete mistake when making his schedule. He tried to get it changed but in the end, he was stuck in an advanced Astronomy class.</p><p>Every day it was the same. Always late. When he wasn't, he usually forgot something important like his notes or a pen. When he didn't do that, he would goof off in class and cause Keith to almost lose his cool multiple times.</p><p>One day, he finally had an experience with him, personally. Keith sat in the study hall, drawing in his notes like he usually did when he was bored or had extra time. He plugged in his headphones like he always did and died back his hair, sketching out a light circle with his pen. After a few minutes of drawing, Keith already felt off. He blinked a few times but the feeling didn't go away. Then, he looked around. Nothing, nobody. Finally, he looked next to him a few chairs away and saw Lance. He seemed annoyed even tho his cheeks were a bit red. Keith looked at him with visible confusion, tilting his head and cocking an eyebrow up.</p><p>"Um, can I help you?" Keith spoke, his eyebrows furrowing.</p><p>"Nope."</p><p>"Then can you stop staring? I don't even know who you are."</p><p>Lance looked a bit distraught at that, and got up, feeling extremely stupid. "Right, sorry. Thought I knew you outside of Astronomy."</p><p>Keith watched as the other boy got up and began to walk away, going towards a big guy who wore a yellow hoodie with an embroidered sunflower on it. Keith rolled his eyes and then got back to drawing with a sigh.</p><p>"Weirdo," he mumbled under his breath.</p><p> </p><p>XX</p><p> </p><p>Present Day</p><p> </p><p>Lance sulked into his couch as he sobbed into the cushion pillows. Tears flooded his eyes and streamed down his cheeks as he watched the ending of Toy Story when the toys celebrate an amazing Christmas with Andy. He blew his nose and sniffled some more, wiping his tears. He wrapped himself in his blanket to keep warm and turned off the TV. He was going to be off for the next day since he wasn't feeling so great. That was a lie, he didn't want to see Keith again. Seeing him earlier made him feel starstruck. He knew Keith was ignoring him and it hurt to think about. Lance decided enough was enough. He was going to text Keith.</p><p> </p><p>[11.37 pm - Friday]</p><p>theonceler: hey. Is everything ok? </p><p>Keith received the message, his heart plummeting into his stomach when he saw who it was from. He was in his room, trying to tune his ukulele by his side. He picked up his phone a bit hesitantly and took a few deep breaths before answering.</p><p>Mothman: yeah.</p><p>theonceler: hey man. I wanna apologize.<br/>
theonceler: I'm sorry for calling your face stupid and I'm sorry that I made your Astronomy class worse.<br/>
theonceler: it's been a month though and I know you've been ignoring me. I just wanna see if things were cool between us.</p><p>Mothman: ig.<br/>
Mothman: I've been super busy. I've been volunteering at an Animal Shelter but I'm not working there yet.<br/>
Mothman: I'll stop by tomorrow morning ok?<br/>
Mothman: I need to apologize too.<br/>
Mothman: but don't expect this to go perfectly.</p><p>Lance's heart raced with excitement. Maybe things between him and Keith would get better. He did want to talk to him again. Lance quickly responded, not wanting to leave him waiting for an answer.</p><p>theonceler: ok, got it.<br/>
theonceler: I'm paying for your drink tomorrow</p><p>Mothman: no you're not.</p><p>theonceler: too late.</p><p>Keith set his phone down, feeling his face warm up again. That feeling was beyond annoying. He couldn't think about Lance without either wanting to throw him off a cliff or hug him. Keith didn't know what he was feeling. He hoped he just thought of Lance as a friend, hopefully, best friends soon. He wouldn't mind being best friends with this dumbass if he were being completely honest.</p><p>Lance was excited to hopefully fix the mini-bond they formed together on their date.</p><p>Date.</p><p>Shit, he had to stop referring to it like that. It was just a night out with an extremely cute place to somewhere first dates don't usually happen. His face turned red just remembering how the moonlight hit Keith's face, how his eyes flew and how the shimmer of the moon reflected off of his jet black hair. He hoped Keith kept the swim trunks he had bought him, even though he insisted Lance not buy them. Lance remembered how Keith looked that night even though he wasn't wearing anything unique. Just the red hoodie he always saw him wearing, ripped jeans and boots. </p><p>Lance just wanted a friend, even if there was a huge possibility they could be more than friends, he was willing to take that risk as long as it was with Keith.</p><p>'Lance, snap out of it. You don't love him and he doesn't care about you.'</p><p>His brain flooded with insults again and he didn't care this time.</p><p>He was just happy to be cool with Keith again.</p><p> </p><p>X</p><p> </p><p>Lance woke up, around 5 am and began to get ready, wanting to look nice for Keith today. He knew Keith probably wouldn't be paying attention to how he looked, but it wouldn't hurt to look better than usual. He grabbed a blue button-up from his closet and a pair of jeans cuffed at the bottom, making himself look neat and presentable. He cleaned his face, grabbed a granola bar and went to put on his shoes. He grabbed his jacket and backpack and jogged down the flight of eight stairs he had to face every day, groaning at the thought of coming back up. He watched the sunrise as he walked down an almost empty sidewalk in front of the shops, smiling as he inhaled and smelt the ocean nearby. A breeze brushed through his hair and felt cold on his face. He unlocked the front door of the cafe and went behind the counter where Allura and Lotor were, the owner and the manager.</p><p>Lance peeked into her office with a smile, "Morning, Lovebirds," he snickered a bit as he went to grab his apron.</p><p>Allura looked out the slightly opened door and went out to see him, "Lance!" her think British accent chimed like honey fall off a spoon. "I thought you were going to stay home today. Are you feeling better? If you're feeling bad again, please tell me."</p><p>The tan boy smiled and shook his head, "I'm fine, thank you. I think it was just allergies. You know how it is this time around."</p><p>"Please let me know if you need to step outside for a minute or sit down, ok?" Allura said again, her eyebrows arched upwards in a worried-like expression.</p><p>Lance lucked out on Allura, but then again she was never interested in him, so he wasn't going to have a chance with somebody as gorgeous as her. He went over to the sink to wash his hands and after that went to flip the 'CLOSED' sign over to say 'OPEN'. </p><p>After an hour or so, the other employees arrived and so did many customers. The customers always seemed to love to strike up a conversation with the baristas whenever ordering. Lance found out a lady was travelling all of America and that this coffee shop was recommended to her by her girlfriend. It warmed his heart to hear about other peoples' stories because they always seemed so happy and proud. </p><p>Pidge and Hunk stopped by for a snack and sat around for a little, hoping to catch a glimpse of Keith again. The two sat down together with their sandwiches and coffee and finally saw him setting up at his table.</p><p>Pidge almost choked on her drink, coughing aggressively after she saw him. "He's here, Hunk! Lance has gotta make a move now."</p><p>Hunk pats her back gently to help her cough and laughed, "Dude, be more careful. Can't have you dying at a cafe over two boys."</p><p>"Do you think he's waiting for Lance?"</p><p>Hunk shrugged, resting his head in his hands, "Who knows."</p><p>Pidge sipped from her drink again, carefully this time. She examined the boy whom she was told was her childhood friend. She didn't recognize him at all. She stared at all his features, the faint scars on the back on his hand,  the hair tie around one wrist, the maroon hoodie he sported along with glasses hanging from the collar of it. Those eyes. Those eyes are the ones Lance would spend gushing about in the group chat until Pidge left it out of annoyance. Those 'galaxies' Lance wouldn't stop talking about. </p><p>"Dude, Lance wasn't lying when he said his eyes were like galaxies," she said, nudging Hunk slightly as he turned to look.</p><p>Hunk was as surprised as Pidge and smiled a bit, "Lance really likes him. Do you think he likes him back?"</p><p>"Of course he does. They both like each other, they're just stupid. REALLY stupid," she groaned, taking a sip from her iced coffee once more.</p><p>Lance put up his apron as if his brain were wired to do so and walked over to Pidge and Hunk's table that was conveniently in front of the entrance to the mini-kitchen. He placed two hands on the table and looked at them contentedly. </p><p>"Hope you don't mind, I'm gonna sit with Keith today," Lance smirked.</p><p>Hunk smiled at Lance and Pidge looked up at him, "You guys cool now?"</p><p>"I hope so. We're gonna talk today and see how it goes."</p><p>"Gonna ask him on another date?" she teased.</p><p>Lance wrinkled his nose playfully at his young friend and snickered, "I might, but not for a while. I wanna get to know him better. Might even invite him over for a movie date so we don't get drunk and ruin the date again."</p><p>Hunk pats his best friend on the back, "You got this dude."</p><p>"Don't fuck it up again," Pidge rolled her eyes, a smile gracing her thin lips while she fought the urge to stay serious. </p><p>Lance started walking towards Keith who was seated at the window working on his laptop. Lance's heart raced quicker with every step he took. Lance felt as if he were walking through space. It was hard to breathe and he felt as if he were drifting instead of moving his legs. Before he knew it, he had his hand on the empty seat in front of Keith. He looked at the boy and smiled, a worried look in his eyes as he was afraid to fuck this up.</p><p>"Is this seat taken?" Lance asked</p><p>Keith looked at him as well, shaking his head gently, "Is that how you start every conversation?" he asked with a soft snicker under his breath.</p><p>Lance laughed with him as he sat down, "I'm being nice when I ask," he said with a large grin.</p><p>Keith closed his laptop and put it aside, his full attention on Lance, "Here to apologize in person?" he asked, a bit more serious now.</p><p>The taller boy looked down, ashamed. "Yeah," he said quietly. "I'm sorry for ruining our night out. It was my fault for drinking too much," Lance looked into Keith's eyes, remembering how gorgeous they looked that night. He swallowed a lump in his throat, "I just want everything to be ok between us. It felt like you were ignoring me yesterday." </p><p>The other stayed silent for a minute and then spoke, looking out the window to avoid eye contact. "It wasn't entirely your fault. I shouldn't have brought up that I knew you," Keith said, a hint of regret in his voice. "That night was super fun and you should have just let me call you a ride or something. You were beyond drunk."</p><p>"I was not!" Lance said</p><p>"Lance," Keith grumbled when he was interrupted, causing Lance to sit back and listen to everything else.</p><p>He sighed and continued to look out at the people walking by, "I shouldn't have gotten mad. It's both of our faults. Mainly mine for bringing up college."</p><p>Lance pouted at him and looked down at the table, both of them silent. Keith let out a sigh as he could feel Lance's eyes darting back and forth.</p><p>Lance took a deep breath and looked at Keith, "I forgive you as long as you forgive me," he said. "I can make it up to you with a movie night. My place tonight."</p><p>Keith finally looked at him, a bit confused. "No drinking."</p><p>"No drinking," Lance repeated, smiling with determination as he put his hand out to shake Keith's. </p><p>Keith sighed, knowing he would regret it. He shook Lance's gently, noticing how much smaller his hands were. Keith looked at him and nodded, "Tonight at 8. I'll bring food, you pick the movie."</p><p>Lance's smile beamed, his eyes sparkling. "Got it."</p><p>The two were distracted by Lance's wristwatch going off, telling him that his break was up. "Ok, tonight at 8. I'll send you my address," he said as he began to get up from the small table, pushing in the seat he was just sitting in. He walked back to the kitchen, high-fiving Hunk and Pidge on his way as they smiled at him. Keith watched it all and felt equally as happy. His heart fluttered but he denied the sensation. It was just a little friend thing. Not a sleepover, not a date. </p><p>Who was he kidding? Keith was going to lose his mind stuck at a cute boy's apartment for the majority of the night.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>sulli ? writing a semi-good non-angsty ending to a chapter ? more likely than you think.<br/>also very very sorry for this being a little shorter hfhjbfhdfhd i PROMISE i'll make up for it next chapter </p><p>send me feedback ! i love to hear from you :D !!</p><p>insta:<br/>main/cosplay - pxniniiii<br/>art - abbachio.travels.the.internet</p><p>p.s. im gonna b uploading some art based off of this fic on my art acc :O</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Boredom</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Boredom by Tyler, the Creator</p><p> </p><p>date surprisingly gone well, a dramatic ass flashback and some "life chaning type-of-urgent" news :0</p><p>!!!!!!! MINOR 'THE SHINING' MOVIE SPOILERS !!!!!!!!!!!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>holy damn this one is like 12 pages long ????? idk i'll have to check again butt its somewhere around there hbfbhjhjd<br/>also an early updated hmm thats kinda wack. this ones worth it though. i kinda rushed through this butt next chapter is gonna make me weep like a lil baby again hhhhhh</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mesa, Arizona.<br/>July 28, 2004.</p><p>Lance covered his mouth, a shaky breath escaping from his lips. He heard footsteps on the other side of the door. They were stealthy, cautious. He covered his mouth with both hands when the footsteps stopped in front of the door. It was pitch black except for the light coming from the other side. The shadow of two feet were planted right there. They started walking away, a wave of relief showering his body. Lance let out a sigh of gratitude but immediately regretted it. He was shocked to find the door wide open, a figure in a mask right there screaming at him. Lance yelped out of fear, curling up on the floor of the closet. The figure took off the mask and erupted into a roar of laughter.</p><p>Veronica.</p><p>She was practically crying from laughter while Lance sat there, horrified out of his mind. He finally stood up and shoved his sister, pouting a bit as he watched her catch her breath. "I'm not playing hide and seek with you ever again," Lance told her, crossing his arms as he looked at her with furrowed brows.</p><p>Veronica finally stopped laughing and smiled at her twin, enjoying how upset he was. "Calm down, Lance," she chuckled, "You're just mad you never win," Veronica told him, throwing the ghoul mask to the side and running a hand through her short, wavy hair.</p><p>Lance whined, "It's not fair! It's my birthday! Why can't I win just ONE game?"</p><p>"OUR birthday, for your information."</p><p>He gave his twin a death stare while she continued to let out small giggles.</p><p>"Relax, Lance. Just because it's our birthday doesn't mean we can't have fun. Come on, let's go see the cake Amá made. I heard it's Tres Leches," Veronica told him as she began to run through the hallway the closet was located, heading into the kitchen.</p><p>Lance's eyes sparkled at what his sister told him. Tres Leches was his favourite kind of cake. That was usually the only thing he ate after parties. Lance quickly ran after his sister, the sound of his bare feet slapping the tiled floor as he made his way to the kitchen. Their mum and older brother, Luis, were decorating the cake. Veronica was already peering over the counter to see what she was doing. Lance stood next to her and watched his mum decorate the pastry. He got on his tiptoes to get a better look.</p><p>"Amá, is it yellow and blue or just one colour? Will there be 8 candles or just one for each?" Veronica started asking many questions, Lance and Luis noticing how visibly upset their mum was. Luis grabbed Veronica's hand gently and tried to steer her away from the cake but she began to whine. Lance watched as his mum was now irritated.</p><p>"Aye, como chingan!" their mum growled, the three siblings looking a bit horrified. The doorbell rang and she facepalmed, she was obviously under a lot of stress. "Veronica, Lance. Go and open the door and take your tia's and tio's to the patio," she instructed them. "Tu también, Luis."</p><p>Luis guided his two younger siblings to the front door and opened it, seeing their aunts and uncles saying happy birthday as they let their children lose to greet them as well. Veronica and Lance hugged their relatives quickly, wanting to go play with their cousins in the bounce house they had rented in the backyard. They all raced to the backyard, Luis helping his uncle with the gifts he had and taking them into the living room.</p><p>Marco, their eldest brother, and their dad arrived a little later, around 7pm, with a piñata for the birthday twins. It had Spiderman on it since that was both Veronica and Lance's favourite hero. Marco went to go say hi to his mum, then going to greet his family and his two youngest siblings. Lance was younger by 20 minutes, so he was always considered the baby of the family, even by Veronica.</p><p>A few hours go by and everybody is having fun. The burger guy arrived and started making food, the speaker next to the beverage coolers blasted all types of music ranging from Mariachi to some pretty famous artists at the time. Everybody was enjoying themselves, except for Lance. He found himself in the middle of the bouncy house with Veronica, his cousins all sitting around them chanting, "Fight, fight, fight!"</p><p>Lance was pretty worried, knowing damn well his mum would get mad if he hit Veronica. He was always told not to hit a girl. Veronica, however, was excited to win in a wrestling match with her brother. She had her hair up in a ponytail and sweat on her forehead from jumping around too much.</p><p>"Come on, Lance. It's just one match. Like the guys on TV."</p><p>"But Amá will kill me if I hit you!" Lance whined.</p><p>Veronica rolled her eyes, "You won't hit me, estupido. I'll be ok."</p><p>Lance took a shaky breath and nodded in defeat. "Ok," he said quietly.</p><p>Before he knew it, he was tackled to the floor of the bouncy house by his sister. All the air was knocked out of his lungs and Veronica was laughing. All the kids started laughing too but once Veronica got up, Lance noticed he couldn't. When she stood up, she looked at a bracelet she had on and started to scream, the other kids doing the same out of horror. Lance had no idea what was going on. He heard Veronica and his cousins sobbing to their mum. Lance moved a hand to a sharp pain in his stomach and saw his hand had blood.</p><p>Blood? That was weird. He never saw the wrestlers on TV had blood.</p><p>Lance didn't even notice he was being dragged out of the bouncy house by his dad and uncle. He looked around at everybody gathering around him and could hear screams from the kids and a few gasps and Spanish curses from his aunts and uncles. His dad got him into the back seat of his car and drove him quickly to the hospital only a few minutes away.</p><p>Lance didn't remember the rest of the night that well, except that he fell asleep on the couch watching Looney Tunes with his mum.</p><p> </p><p>X</p><p> </p><p>Lance woke up the next morning to his siblings looking over him. He tried to move but his body was sore. Nonetheless, he sat up with a small grunt. Veronica looked beyond guilty as she examined her brother. Marco, 16, and Luis, 14, looked at Lance a bit worried as they grabbed a cup of water for him.</p><p>"Hey man," Marco said quietly, "Feeling well?"</p><p>Lance blinked a few times and looked around. He could see the deflated jumper in the backyard through the sliding glass door in the living room. His hand went under his shirt and he touched his stomach, feeling a large bandaged area on the right side of his stomach. Lance's small fingers roamed the area. He looked down and lifted his shirt to get a better look at what was there. Lance saw a bandage wrapped around his torso. Now, he was beyond confused.</p><p>"What happened?" he asked quietly.</p><p>Luis and Marco looked at Veronica and she felt as if she wanted to cry. She looked down at the floor. "My bracelet. It cut you in the stomach last night. It's all my fault. Our birthday was ruined because of me."</p><p>Her eyes became glassy as Luis wrapped an arm around his young sister’s shoulder. "Nobody ruined anything," Marco told her and Lance. "You're ok, Lance. We all got scared last night."</p><p>Their mum came into the living room and scolded them, shooing them away.</p><p>"Vayanse! He needs to recover," she told her children as she sat next to Lance. "How do you feel, Mijo?"</p><p>Lance glanced over at his siblings watching him from the stairs and shrugged, "It hurts a little," he told his mum. She wrapped an arm around him carefully and sighed.</p><p>The rest of the day was Lance sitting on the couch, eating cake from last night and watching Looney Toons. His mum stayed with him almost all day since the doctor had told them that he would be getting sharp pains for a while during his recovery. Lance did experience a few, only two of which made him cry from pain. Turns out Lance had 13 stitches from the deep wound Veronica's piece of plastic jewelry left him. It was a thin but deep cut.</p><p>The days following up, Lance recovered pretty well but was spooked every time he saw the scar in the mirror or when he went to shower. Veronica sat with him in the backyard one day and apologized properly, eating chips with him as they watched the birds in the big tree they had.</p><p>"I'm gonna be proud of this scar one day."</p><p>"Why?"</p><p>"Because scars are cool. I'll look cool now."</p><p> </p><p>XX</p><p> </p><p>Present Day</p><p>Lance threw his jacket and backpack onto the coat rack, his keys onto the counter. Lance sat down on the couch with his phone texting Keith his address. He was genuinely excited about this little date. Lance started looking for a good movie, something he wouldn't cry with. He decided a good movie for them both would be The Shining. Lance was never a fan of horror, but when it came to The Shining? He could never turn down an offer for such an amazing movie.</p><p>He skimmed through a few more options in case Keith didn't like the movie and chose two back up movies. He got off the couch and went to his room, wanting to dress nicely for tonight. He stripped off his shirt from work and went to his closet, grabbing a baby blue one. He was told before that blue brings out his eyes more.</p><p>Lance grabbed the shirt and looked at himself in front of a long mirror he had. He admired his body since he never really did. He was proud of how he was keeping himself fit. He tried to flex his arms but he realized he had no muscles. He was just skinny. Lance looked at his stomach and saw the scar from when he was younger. It was a lot smaller now. He remembered it from his 8th birthday. He and Veronica laughed about the incident now but back then, they were too afraid to even bring it up for years. Shit, whenever they did, Veronica would cry because she still felt so guilty.</p><p>His fingers lightly traced the scar a bit, having almost forgotten about it. Lance finally slipped on his t-shirt, tucking it into his jeans. He slipped on some socks too and finally left his room, pretty impatient.</p><p>Almost as if his mind were being read, he heard three knocks on his door. Lance jolted up with a smile and pranced over to the door. Lance fixed his hair quickly before opening the door. There he was. Keith.</p><p>Keith was dressed in a red letterman jacket and a black shirt with black jeans and those dark red boots he always had on. Keith looked at Lance with a soft smile and waved. "Hi," he said quietly, "Sorry if you weren't ready."</p><p>Lance snapped out of his trance and smiled back, his stomach fluttering. "Hey," he responded, "No, it's fine! Perfect timing. Did you bring food?" Lance asked as he opened the door for Keith, inviting him in.</p><p>Keith walked in and showed Lance the bag of food he had. "Told you I would," Keith told him with a smirk as he left it on the counter.</p><p>Lance closed the door and sat on the couch, "Welcome to my homey apartment. It's not much but it's pretty," he chuckled.</p><p>Keith looked around and sat next to Lance, taking off his jackets and boots. "Is that your family?" he asked Lance, pointing to a picture on his coffee table. It was a picture of four children and two adults. Lance nodded,</p><p>"It's been almost 6 years since I've seen them," he sighed.</p><p>Keith frowned, sitting back, "I'm sorry to hear."</p><p>Lance smiled, "Don't be," he chuckled, "I'm going to see them soon."</p><p>"That's nice," Keith told him. He envied that about mostly everybody, and now Lance. He seemed to have a big family, judging by the pictures scattered around the apartment. Keith's dad died when he was around 7 years old, and his mum disappeared not long after. </p><p>Lance grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, starting up the movie, "Have you ever seen The Shining?" he asked Keith, getting up to serve themselves food.</p><p>He shook his head, "It's been a while. My brother tried to get me to watch it but I got bored," Keith shrugged a bit.</p><p>Lance opened the bag and served himself some Chinese food Keith had brought. He grabbed two cartons and two forks, one for each. Lance sat next to Keith and gave him the carton and fork. "This is good," he told Keith as he dug in and stuffed his face with the orange chicken. Keith chuckled a bit as he ate some noodles, looking at the movie that had already begun.</p><p>The two watched the movie in silence, Lance pointed out a few little details and would grab Keith's arm when he needed to pay attention to the movie. He would always respond by either jerking his arm away or growling Lance's name in annoyance. Keith really didn't mind whenever Lance grabbed his arm, it was kind of comforting. Towards the end of the movie, Keith fell asleep on the couch, his carton half empty and on the coffee table.</p><p>Lance turned on the lights after the movie, a bit paranoid but satisfied with having watched it again. He noticed Keith was asleep and his heart skipped a few beats. Lance didn't know what to do. He barely knew this boy but here he was. Asleep on his couch. Lance threw out what Keith had left and put away the rest of the food for tomorrow. He went over to a closet in a hallway and grabbed a blanket for Keith. He gently put it over Keith and smiled. His cheeks heated up as he saw the boy. He was pretty cute.</p><p>Lance, stop that. You’re such a creep.</p><p>He shook his head in denial and went over to turn off the string lights that illuminated the apartment. He made his way to his room and closed it gently, not wanting to wake up Keith.</p><p>Lance changed into his pyjamas, still thinking about Keith. Maybe he should wake him up and loan him some PJs? No, then he would leave. It was too late to leave. Almost midnight, way too dangerous for California. Lance gave up and went to his bathroom, cleansing his face like he did every night before bed. He stayed up a bit more, still worried about Keith not sleeping well. Lance would constantly check on him at night to see if he was ok or not. Eventually, falling asleep around 2 in the morning.</p><p>Lance woke up around 7 in the morning. It was a Sunday. He groaned into his pillow and grabbed his phone, texting Allura</p><p>[7.32 AM, Sunday]</p><p>theonceler: good morning Allura &lt;3</p><p>mrsallura: oh, good morning Lance.</p><p>theonceler: I never knew you looked this stunning.<br/>theonceler: why have I been so blind to your beauty?</p><p>mrsallura: what do u want this time -_-</p><p>theonceler: day off today?</p><p>mrsallura: I suppose. but u need to make this up on Tuesday.</p><p>theonceler: I'll make you a coffee tomorrow if you want :)<br/>theonceler: I'll clean the whole kitchen tomorrow too</p><p>mrsallura: don't go back on your word, McClain.</p><p>theonceler: when have I ever?<br/>theonceler: u gotta trust me on this :)</p><p>mrsallura: you're such a pain.<br/>mrsallura: why are u even taking today off?</p><p>Lance thought for a minute. He couldn't just say he was staying home to take care of a cute guy that fell asleep at his place last night.</p><p>theonceler: not feeling well again.<br/>theonceler: my fever came back from Friday</p><p>mrsallura: u should go and get that checked out, Lance.<br/>mrsallura: I don't want u getting my employees sick.</p><p>theonceler: I promise I haven't gotten anybody sick and won't anytime soon</p><p>mrsallura: ok now get some rest.<br/>mrsallura: do u need me to send that one recipe for herbal tea?</p><p>theonceler: Not today lol, thank you though</p><p>mrsallura: if you say so.<br/>mrsallura: rest up, Lance.</p><p>theonceler: will do, thank you Allura.</p><p>Lance finished their short conversation and he set down his phone, getting out of bed. Lance stretched and grabbed a shirt to put on. He slipped it on and headed out of his room, seeing Keith was still asleep. Lance smiled to himself and went into the kitchen, wanting to make some breakfast for his guest.</p><p>Keith woke up to the sound of something sizzling a few minutes later. He was a pretty light sleeper. He sat up slowly and saw Lance in the kitchen, his back facing him. Seeing Lance made his heart race. He had to get out of there before his heart would explode. He sat on the edge of the old sofa and yawned, catching Lance's attention.</p><p>"Good morning," his voice chimed as he turned around to look at Keith, "I'm making breakfast for you," Lance turned around to continue what he was doing, hoping not to burn anything.</p><p>Keith's heart stopped a bit when he heard Lance's voice, tensing up a bit. Why would somebody be making him breakfast? He shook his head and looked over at Lance. "What time is it?" Keith's low voice whispered.</p><p>"Almost 8," Lance told him as he looked at the time on the microwave. He had made french toast for the both of them. Lance grabbed a plate for Keith and served him four slices, putting it on the table quickly. "Come and eat before they get cold. This took me forever."</p><p>Keith slowly got up and shuffled to the small table Lance had. He sat down in front of the plate, looking at the view of Long Beach from the balcony window. Keith grabbed his fork and began to eat, savouring the tiny bites he took. It was surprisingly good.</p><p>Lance set his own plate down and sat across from Keith, "Sleep well?" he asked him, examining the band aid that was on the boy's cheek. Lance had noticed it the first time he saw him but didn't think much of it.</p><p>Keith shrugged, "I slept ok."</p><p>"Just ok?"</p><p>He nodded slowly.</p><p>"You could've told me you were tired."</p><p>Keith shrugged, "It's whatever. Thank you for letting me stay."</p><p>Lance smiled at him, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, "No problem, dude."</p><p>Keith had to get out of there, quick. Not only would Shiro be worried, but he couldn't take it anymore. He liked Lance- a lot- but he was still in denial. He had never fallen this hard and this quickly for somebody, it all had to be a mistake. Keith finished up his food and went to go put his plate in the sink. He decided he would wash it, just to be nice. After all, he did owe Lance a big favour since he spent the night without permission.</p><p>Lance came up behind him, scaring him a bit as he put his dish in the sink. Lance noticed how Keith jolted up and tilted his head, "Hey dude are you ok? You seem pretty tense."</p><p>Keith sighed and put his dish to dry on the rack. He turned around and Lance was still there. Lance examined him and then put his hand on Keith's cheek, wiping away some food. "That was annoying me, sorry."</p><p>Keith's face turned a bright red at the touch. He slipped out of Lance’s touch quickly and started walking towards the living room to gather his stuff, feeling Lance’s eyes burning into the back of his skull.</p><p>"Thank you for the movie, the breakfast and for letting me crash here, but I really need to go," Keith panicked, fumbling over his words as he gathered his things.</p><p>Lance watched as Keith fumbled around to get his stuff, pretty confused. "Keith, are you ok?" he asked again, washing his dish.</p><p>Keith already had his jacket on. He was tying his boots when Lance talked to him. He looked up at the boy in the kitchen and nodded quickly, "Yeah, just have to get to work," he lied.</p><p>He got up from the couch quickly and grabbed his keys from the counter. He looked at Lance before leaving and seemed a bit mortified. "Thank you, again."</p><p>Lance smiled at him, following him to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow at the café?" he asked him, standing at the doorway as he admired Keith.</p><p>Keith nodded quickly, already opening the door. "Tomorrow," he said, closing the door behind him rather swiftly.</p><p>Lance looked at the door Keith had just left out of and seemed a bit worried. Why did he leave so suddenly? Was it something he did? It was probably just Keith being late, just like he had told him, but he couldn’t help but think he did something wrong again. The wave of insults flooded into his brain once more. Lance felt as if he had fucked up really bad this time- and he didn't even know why. Great job McClain, another date ruined</p><p> </p><p>X</p><p> </p><p>The next day, Monday.</p><p> </p><p>"I bet you $10 he's going to say it's his fault again."</p><p>Hunk tilted his head, "I bet you $10 that it went well."</p><p>"Fine," Pidge sighed, "I bet $20 he's going to say- and I quote,- ‘I fucked it up’."</p><p>"Why do you think he's always going to butcher it?" Hunk asked.</p><p>Pidge shrugged, "Not always. I just know what’s going on in his empty brain."</p><p>Lance checked his watch and put his hands on Pidge and Hunk's table again. "You guys gotta have my back this time. I think I fucked it up again," he whined, still not sitting down.</p><p>Pidge looked at Hunk with a smirk. He began to get his wallet out with a sigh and dug for money. Lance furrowed his eyebrows, "You guys made a bet on me?" he asked, a bit offended.</p><p>"Yeah, so we can pay for a road trip we're saving up for. My family's going to Wisconsin for Matt's 25th. Maybe you and Keith would wanna tag along? Keith's family and mine go way back."</p><p>Lance was caught by surprise but shook his head, "I don't care about that right now, I just need you guys to cover my back while I talk to Keith today, ok? Please?" Lance asked them, pouting.</p><p>“Fine,” Pidge mumbled, “But tonight, we are going to talk about this trip,” she demanded, scolding him.</p><p>Lance winked at her along with a finger gun as he headed over to Keith’s table. Keith was drawing in a sketchbook this time. No laptop. That was pretty weird- to Lance at least. He sat down in front of Keith with a soft smile. “Good afternoon, Mullet,” Lance smirked, putting his apron on the back of the seat.</p><p>Keith was pretty surprised by the sudden greeting. He quickly closed his sketchbook and looked at Lance, frowning slightly, “Don’t call me Mullet,” Keith sighed, but he couldn’t stop the warm feeling in his cheeks again. He rested his face on his hand as he admired Lance.</p><p>Lance smirked, “Sorry,” he said quietly. “Saturday night was pretty fun.”</p><p>Keith nodded quickly, “Yeah. I didn’t know it was that good of a movie. Thank you, again.”</p><p>“Mi casa es su casa” Lance winked.</p><p>‘Holy shit he speaks Spanish.’</p><p>Keith’s heart raced as he was caught off guard by Lance and his sudden shift in languages. His cheeks turned a brighter red and he looked away quickly. “Sure, whatever,” Keith muttered. ‘Change subjects, quick.’ Keith looked back at Lance and started thinking about the movie again. “The part when Wendy was stuck in the bathroom? Why didn’t she just jump out of a window or something?”</p><p>“First off, she was on a high level-”</p><p>“But there was snow to break her fall-”</p><p>“SECOND of all, there was no window, dork. And plus, they were in the middle of a snow storm! She could’ve died of hypothermia!”</p><p>Keith furrowed his eyebrows a bit, “Look who's the dork now.”</p><p>Lance gasped dramatically yet playfully, “As if! You’re the one trying to strike up a conversation with movie talk.”</p><p>“Because it was a good movie!”</p><p>“So you’re a dork for liking it too!”</p><p>Keith sighed, trying not to get upset even though he knew Lance was just teasing. Lance looked at him and then cleared his throat.</p><p>“Pidge’s family is going to Wisconsin and they’re inviting us.”</p><p>The pale boy looked up, a bit confused, “Us?”</p><p>Lance nodded, “Yeah. Hunk, you, your family and I. It’s for her brother’s birthday.”</p><p>Keith shrugged a bit, “I guess I’ll go. When is it?”</p><p>“Probably next month in May. The week of his birthday.”</p><p>“And that is?”</p><p>“The 25th.”</p><p>Keith thought for a moment. He probably wouldn’t be busy that week. In reality, he was never busy. “I’ll talk to Shiro and Adam about it tonight. See if they’re down to go.”</p><p>“Sweet,” Lance smiled. By pure coincidence, Keith got a call from Shiro and looked down at his phone. “Well, I should head home.” Keith told, showing Lance his phone with a call awaiting to be answered. “Text me?” Keith asked Lance with a soft smile.</p><p>Lance’s heart raced as he watched Keith get up from his seat. “Yeah, for sure. I’ll update you on the trip,” he told him, standing up too so he could head over to sit with his friends and tell them Keith was on-board.</p><p>“Goodbye, Lance.”</p><p>“Later, Mullet.”</p><p>Keith grabbed his sketchbook and headed out the cafe, walking in the direction of the Animal Shelter. He picked up the phone and answered in his low voice he always did over the phone. “Hello?”</p><p>“Hey. Come home. We have some news.”</p><p>Keith furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and sighed, “Can’t you just tell me right now?”</p><p>“No. You need to see this in person.”</p><p>“How urgent is it?”</p><p>“Life changing type-of-urgent.”</p><p>The worst possible outcomes began to invade Keith’s thoughts. Shiro hung up before he could even ask more questions. He quickly pulled over a cab, just wanting to get home immediately.</p><p> </p><p>XX</p><p> </p><p>Keith paid the driver and quickly ran up the steps to the house. He fumbled for his keys and quickly swung open the door, kicking off his boots and running into the living room. Keith saw Shiro and Adam on the couch, looking at an open laptop. Now he was worried.</p><p>“What happened?” Keith asked, making his way over to sit next to Shiro.</p><p>Shiro took a deep breath and looked at Adam, the laptop and then his brother.</p><p>“When I tell you this, I don’t want you to freak out or get any hope. I want you to stay calm-”</p><p>“Just tell me, Shiro.”</p><p>The older male reluctantly showed Keith the laptop open on an image of a lady in her mid-40’s. Keith had no idea what was going on. She was an Asian lady sitting in a garden, smiling at the camera. Shiro and Adam watched Keith’s expression to see if he recognized her. </p><p>Keith looked at them both, confused, “I don't know what kind of joke this is, but I’m not getting it.”</p><p>Adam sighed, “Jesus christ, you are so dense. It’s your mother, Keith. We found her alive and well.”</p><p>His eyes widened as he looked back at the picture, examining her features. Shit, she looked exactly like him. Keith’s eyes became glassy and he found his hand covering his mouth. The more he looked at the picture, the more he remembered her. He could hear her voice and feel her soft kisses. Before he knew it, he was in Shiro and Adam’s arms, crying like a baby. Keith wanted answers. Why did she leave him? Why did she disappear off the face of the Earth? Where was she? Does she even still love him. He didn’t care right now, because he knew she was ok.</p><p>His mum was alive.</p><p>Keith’s mum was ok.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>o shit a genuine good cliffhanger ??? impossible.</p><p>message me feedback, i love to hear from you !<br/>i<br/>nsta:<br/>main/cos - pxniniiii<br/>art - abbachio.travels.the.internet</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. A Song About Being Sad</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A Song About Being Sad by Rex Orange County</p><p>!!!!! TW: GRIEF (?) !!!!!!</p><p>Another angsty flashback, bottled up feelings and a homie trying to help a homie.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>my god. when i say i sobbed writing a chapter, i mean it. this one was a bit more personal  to me so it wasn't so easy to write. this was such a rollercoaster though, and i promise that i'm gonna try n have a sweet ending next chapter :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dallas, Texas<br/>Saturday, September 29, 2001</p><p> </p><p>Rolling in the grass of his backyard home was a young boy named Keith. His mother sat on the porch, watching his white t-shirt with a red dino on it become stained with little patches of green. His laughter like music to her. She soon stood up with a sigh and a soft smile, walking over to her child. The slim lady sat down next to him, looking up at the orange leaves that were still on the semi-naked tree branches. "So, kiddo," she started, "You turn 7 in a month."</p><p>Keith sat up from his laying position and nodded, "Yeah. It's weird. I'm gonna be a teenager soon," he stuck his tongue out in disgust.</p><p>His mother laughed, now laying down in the freshly cut grass, "I know. You're growing up so fast. It feels like I was leaving the hospital only yesterday with a new-born."</p><p>The young boy looked at the blue sky and giggled, "That's impossible, mummy," he laughed.</p><p>She laughed with him, "I know, I know," The lady sat up and sat cross-legged in front of her child, "Been thinking about anything special for your birthday?" she asked him.</p><p>Keith hummed as he thought, his eyes going wide and a smile gracing his pale face when he finally got an idea. "I want a spaceship for Milo and me! We're gonna fly to Pluto and live in space," he said, holding a hippopotamus stuffie he had named Milo. He and his dad got him from an aquarium and now he was Keith's only friend.</p><p>"That sounds fun," his mother said, "But we'll miss two down here on Earth."</p><p>"You always complain about Milo getting too messy at the dinner table," Keith pouted, holding the hippo close to him now.</p><p>She chuckled lightly, "That doesn't mean I don't love Milo. Your dad and I love you two very much even though you both are messy eaters," she smiled, ruffling Keith's dark choppy locks.</p><p>Keith laughed as his hair was messed up. He finally looked up at his mum who had the same violet eyes, jet black hair, and smile. Although Keith's was more crooked and his missing teeth made it a bit goofier. His mother gave him the same look, letting out a sigh, "Let's head inside now, your dad should be home soon."</p><p>The lady got up and put a hand out for her child, helping him up. Both of them headed inside. Keith sat in the living room, turning on the TV to watch cartoons that were on. His mum headed into the kitchen to make some snacks for them, waiting to prepare dinner once her husband arrived.</p><p>An hour passed and soon did two. The sun had already set and his dad still wasn't home. His mother began to pace around the kitchen and was worried. He was always home before 5, what was going on?</p><p>She made her way to the house phone and dialled his work number. No answer, the restaurant was already closed. Her heart began to race anxiously as she worried about her husband. She made her way into the living room to talk to her child but was interrupted by the sound of a knock on the door. Keith's head turned directly to the door, his head tilting a bit out of curiosity.</p><p>His mum looked at him and motioned for Keith to go upstairs. He scurried up the carpeted staircase, sitting at the top to eavesdrop on the conversation that would most likely go on between his mum and the guest at the door.</p><p>She opened it slowly, hoping it was her husband. To her horror, it was a police officer. She opened the door all the way, a distraught look on her face as she awaited the news.</p><p>After a few minutes of exchanging incoherent mumbles, the door closed. Keith knew it was ok to come downstairs now. He went down and stopped before the last step. Keith noticed his mother, completely silent and leaned against the door. Her soft crying could barely be heard.</p><p>"Mum?"</p><p>She quickly stood straight and looked at her son, her eyes puffy, her face red and her cheeks wet with tears. She sniffled a bit and moved a few loose strands of hair from her face. "Keith," she started.</p><p>"Let's get to bed, kiddo."</p><p>"Where's dad?"</p><p>"Dad-" she stopped and choked on her words, "Dad's busy tonight."</p><p>Keith examined her face a bit blandly, not knowing what was going on. She walked towards him and grabbed his hand weakly, leading him upstairs to his bedroom. "We're gonna visit Shiro tomorrow, ok?" his mother said, not looking at him.</p><p>Now he was confused, "Why? He doesn't babysit me on Sundays."</p><p>She nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat, "I know he doesn't, but mommy has to work tomorrow."</p><p>They entered Keith's small, yet cozy room. He sat down on his bed while his mom stayed at his door, still looking hurt. She finally moved over to Keith and planted a soft kiss on his forehead, "Sleep well, my angel."</p><p>Keith watched her leave his room without saying another word. He knew she wasn't ok. Was it that bad that he couldn't know?</p><p> </p><p>XX</p><p> </p><p>The morning arrived. Keith noticed a backpack next to his closet door that was bulky-looking. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, but nonetheless, he got out of bed and headed downstairs. Keith noticed his mum was asleep on the couch, TV still running. He knew that wasn't good.</p><p>He moved her arm gently, waking her up almost immediately. "Mum," Keith whispered, "It's 11 in the morning. Can we go to Shiro's already?"</p><p>She sat up quickly and looked at the time on her wristwatch. The lady sighed and covered her eyes, "Yes, go and grab the backpack in your room. I'll be in the car when you're ready."</p><p>His mum got up from the couch, shuffling to the door for her keys. Keith waddled upstairs, making his way into his room for that backpack he saw earlier. He grabbed it and it felt a bit heavy. Almost as if his mum had packed rocks. He quickly changed into some new clothes since he didn't get time to change into his pyjamas the night before. He grabbed the bulky mess of a backpack after he was finished changing and headed downstairs. He slipped on his shoes and walked out the front door, locking it how his parents had taught him before.</p><p>Keith got into the backseat, buckling up and putting his backpack next to him. He looked and saw his mum resting her head on the wheel. The child tilted his head a bit out of curiosity, "Mummy, are you sad?"</p><p>She looked back at him, expressionless. Her eyes bloodshot red from the night before and her eyelids crusty from crying so much. She shook her head gently, "Mummy's ok. She just needs a timeout to think about some things," the lady said quietly, starting the car and pulling out of the driveway of their small home in Texas.</p><p>It's a 6-minute drive to Shiro's house. He had been babysitting Keith for 3 years already and he was surprisingly well for a 15-year-old. The two of them formed a brother-like bond. Once at Shiro's, Keith got out of the car quickly, his tiny body filled with excitement. He walked up to Shiro's front door, Keith's mum following slowly behind.</p><p>The tall male with jet black hair opened the door with a large smile, kneeling and hugging Keith tightly, "What're you doing here so early?" Shiro laughed, letting go of the embrace with his tiny friend.</p><p>"Mum has to work today."</p><p>Shiro stood up and looked at the lady behind him. She looked like she hadn't slept in years. He motioned for Keith to head inside and wrapped the lady in a tight embrace for a hug. Keith watched as they hugged for a long time. Shiro pats her back gently and lets go of the hug. She looked at him and she apologized for leaving Keith with him on such short notice.</p><p>They exchange a few words and finally, she takes one last look at Keith whose standing there in his Ren and Stimpy shirt, black shorts, and velcro shoes. The lady took a few last glimpses of his pale arms and legs covered in superhero bandaids. She knelt and extended her arms for a hug. Keith took a running start and hugged her tightly, "I'll see you when you're out of work."</p><p>She choked on her words and let a singular tear trickle down her cheek, nodding softly, "I'll see you too," her voice broke as she spoke.</p><p>Shiro and Keith stood at the door as they watched her get into her car, driving away from Shiro's house.</p><p>He never thought that would be the last time he saw her.</p><p> </p><p>X</p><p> </p><p>Present Day</p><p> </p><p>Keith laid in bed, silent. His puffy eyes looked at the telescope by his window that faced the beach. The dark sky illuminated by the city lights. He had spent almost all day in his room after he got the news from Shiro and Adam. Maybe he should text Lance. He just needed somebody to talk to somebody. Keith sat up slowly, grabbing his phone from the nightstand to text the Loverboy.</p><p>[11.25 pm, Monday]</p><p>Mothman: hey. u there?</p><p>Lance was busy at his dinner table with Hunk and Pidge, trying to forge together a plan for their road trip to Wisconsin. Pidge had brought out a whiteboard and began to start documenting each other's paychecks. Lance grabbed his phone from his pocket and saw the message from Keith, his heart skipping a beat. He texted back almost immediately.</p><p>theonceler: hey! yeah, I'm here lol. why, miss me? ;)</p><p>Mothman: no, I just need somebody to talk to.<br/>Mothman: can you call?</p><p>Lance looked at Pidge and Hunk discussing the plan. "Hey, I need to take this call," Lance told them, interrupting their conversation.</p><p>"Who, your boyfriend?" Pidge deadpanned, pushing her glasses up on her nose.</p><p>Lance rolled his eyes, "Not yet," he smirked. He went out onto the balcony, enjoying the night sky. He dialled Keith's number and brought his phone up to his ear, listening to it ring right before Keith answered.</p><p>"Hello?"</p><p>He took a deep breath and spoke, "Hey, mullet," Lance smiled to himself. "Everything good?"</p><p>Keith shook his head on the other side of the phone and sighed, "Yeah," he lied, "I just wanted to talk to somebody, y' know."</p><p>Lance nodded, "Yeah, I understand. What do you wanna talk about?"</p><p>He shrugged, "I'm not sure. Just anything happy. Tell me some good news."</p><p>"Well, Pidge, Hunk and I are planning the trip to Wisconsin right now."</p><p>"Oh," Keith muttered, "Then I'll let you go, I didn't know I was interrupting-"</p><p>"No, it's ok!" Lance said quickly, "I know you wanted to talk to somebody so here I am."</p><p>"You sure?" Keith asked.</p><p>"Positive," Lance responded.</p><p>The two stayed silent and then Keith broke the silence as per usual,</p><p>"Any other good news?"</p><p>Lance looked out to the beach as he spoke, "Well, my family is visiting in a few months."</p><p>Keith's stomach churned at the word 'family'. He didn't want to think about family right now. Especially with the "life-changing" news, he had gotten a few hours ago.</p><p>"What about you, Mr. Sadness? Any good news on your end?"</p><p>Keith hesitated to speak but finally thought of something worth sharing, "3 dogs were adopted yesterday and 5 cats were fostered from the Animal Shelter I'm volunteering at right now. I think I might adopt this one dog. We named him Kosmo and he's amazing," he smiled to himself.</p><p>Lance smiled too, "Dude, that's awesome! I wanna stop by a shelter one day. I used to volunteer when I was living here with my aunt and uncle."</p><p>"That's nice, Lance."</p><p>"Yeah, I kinda miss it. But I'm happy with working at Altean. It pays well, it's fun with my co-workers, and if I didn't work there I wouldn't have met-" Lance stopped, not wanting to trail off. He cleared his throat and then spoke again, "I met this pretty cool guy 'cause I was working there. I might go back to volunteering at shelters again once I'm retired, but right now, I'm not leaving Altean for awhile."</p><p>Keith smiled as he listened to Lance ramble on about loving his job. Lance spoke again, "Sorry if I was rambling," he laughed nervously.</p><p>"No, it's fine. Hearing your good news made me feel pretty happy."</p><p>Lance smiled, looking at the stars. He was silent for a second, finally speaking after his eyes landed on a specific thing in the night sky, "You can see Mars tonight,"</p><p>Keith looked out his window from where he was still sitting on the edge of his bed. He slowly moved over to the telescope and looked into it, looking for Mars. Once he finally caught it too, he smiled and spoke, "Yeah. I see it. It's not so easy though with all this light pollution."</p><p>"Right? It's ridiculous."</p><p>Keith nodded, focusing on the pretty planet. "I think we're gonna be able to see Pluto in a few days."</p><p>They were silent again, admiring the planet and stars around it. Keith let out a sigh and swallowed a lump in his throat, "Thanks for taking a bit of time to just talk to me, Lance."</p><p>"Of course, dude," Lance started, his full attention now on Keith, "I dunno what you're going through right now, but just know I'm here. Even if we aren't super close, you got me."</p><p>Keith smiled to himself, backing away from the telescope. "I know."</p><p>Silence again.</p><p>"Well," Keith cleared his throat, "I'm gonna go now. Update me on the trip. Text me if you need me."</p><p>Lance pouted a bit, "Ok. Sleep well, Samurai."</p><p>He chuckled, "That's new. Where did you think of that?"</p><p>"Dunno. Your hair reminds me of Samurai Jack. Y'know, that old cartoon?"</p><p>Keith rolled his eyes, holding back a smile, "Goodnight, Lance."</p><p>"Night, Keith."</p><p>They both hung up at about the same time. Lance headed back inside and Keith sat at his window for a bit longer. Finally, he laid back in his bed, thinking of Lance. He quickly tried to think of something else and finally was able to sleep.</p><p> </p><p>X</p><p> </p><p>A few hours earlier</p><p>Keith sobbed into the arms of Shiro and Adam, the two who practically raised him for 17 years. His cries were silent, so silent that he didn't even seem to be crying. After years and years of searching, they found her. Keith's mum. The same lady who left him in his babysitter's hands with no further explanation. The same lady who had given him his pale skin, purple eyes and a slightly crooked smile. He couldn't believe it. The three of them sat there, all feeling the happiness yet anger and disgust that filled the room.</p><p>They let go of their hug and Keith wiped his tears and snot on the sleeve of his maroon coloured hoodie. Adam took a deep breath and shook his head. "I remember you wouldn't stop asking Takashi and his parents when she was going to get out of work."</p><p>The lump in his throat formed again and the tears started falling down his expressionless face. His eyebrows began to furrow and his lips curled into a frown, "She left me," Keith muttered, the realization finally hitting him, "That bitch, she left me and didn't even tell me where my dad was."</p><p>Shiro slowly put a hand on Keith's shoulder to comfort him but was surprised to find Keith swatting it away. "She left me. She left me with a teenager I barely knew. She abandoned me like a dog."</p><p>"Keith, I know you're upset, but she wants to see you," Shiro said quietly, "She wants to see you after all these years."</p><p>Keith gave Shiro the most disgusted look ever, "My mum wants to see me? After 17 fucking years, she finally has the balls to come up to her child and say 'Hey look, kiddo! I'm alive and I abandoned you!' I'm expecting a fucking apology from her. I want an explanation from her!" he shouted, his face red from all the crying and the anger he was feeling.</p><p>He let out a sigh and put his face in his hands. He was so upset, confused.</p><p>"She's going to be in town next week," Adam added.</p><p>Keith stood up, "Great! Fucking fantastic!" he threw his arms up behind his head and began to pace the living room.</p><p>Shiro was now standing too, he grabbed Keith by both shoulders and looked him in the eyes, "Keith, listen to me. I know you're upset and you don't ever want to see her again, but please! She misses you and she left you for your own good!"</p><p>Keith looked at Shiro and didn't even try to stop the rest of his tears from flowing down his face. He just continued to cry, finally giving in and hugging Shiro. They stood in the middle of the living room in silence. Shiro completely understood why Keith was so upset. All the feelings he was experiencing at that very moment were all super valid. Although Shiro had no idea what Keith was feeling, he knew that Keith was going to get through it.</p><p>"Listen to me, buddy," Shiro said, "She had to have a reason. You got this. When you see her, don't get upset. Stay calm, stay formal, don't get mad. She misses you like how you missed her all these years."</p><p>Keith buried his face into Shiro's shoulder, still crying. He took a few deep breaths and finally spoke, trying to keep his cool, "When is she coming?" his hoarse voice asked quietly.</p><p>"The 30th. Right before May starts."</p><p>Keith let go of the hug, his eyes puffy and his nose red from so much crying. "I-" he stopped, choking on his words. "I need to be alone for the rest of the day. Please," he said quietly, backing away from Shiro. "If you guys make food, just leave it at my door. I'm not gonna be leaving for a day or two."</p><p>Adam stood up and grabbed Keith's arm gently. He looked back and gave his brother-in-law a death stare. Adam sighed and looked at the younger boy, "We'll always be here for you, ok?" he told Keith, letting go of his arm.</p><p>Keith looked down and nodded, going upstairs now.</p><p>Takashi and Adam looked at each other and shook their heads, feeling Keith's pain. "I'll order pizza and wings for him. I'm paying," Adam said as he went over to grab his phone.</p><p>Shiro sat down next to him and opened his laptop again, looking at the picture of the lady and the few messages they began to exchange prior to Keith arriving. He leaned onto his husband's side gently and sighed, "What if he gets mad when he sees Krolia?"</p><p>Adam wrapped an arm around Shiro and let out a deep breath, "I don't know. You've taught him well though, he controls his anger well now because of you." Shiro shrugged.</p><p>"I guess, but you know how he bursts sometimes."</p><p>His husband nodded, "Let's talk about something happier," Adam said, wanting to change the subject. "Where is Krolia anyway?"</p><p>Shiro brought up her profile and found her location, a bit surprised. "Anseong, Korea. I remember she always told me that's where she grew up."</p><p>Adam raised his eyebrows, surprised. "That's far. Like FAR far. I wonder how she even got the money to get a flight to Anseong," he said, pushing up his rectangular glasses on his nose. "At least we're not the ones going to Anseong. But then again, I feel bad that she's wasting so much money on a three-day trip here. Maybe we should help out a bit?"</p><p>"I guess that wouldn't hurt," Shiro thought, looking at his husband as he tilted his head gently. He closed his laptop and turned on the TV, just wanting to get his mind off of all this.</p><p> </p><p>X</p><p> </p><p>Next day.</p><p>Lance woke up to Hunk and Pidge making loads of noise in the living room. He groggily got out of his room, finding them playing Street Fighter on his TV. Lance groaned and walked over to them, slumping on the couch. Hunk paused the game and the two of them looked back.</p><p>"Morning, Lance," Hunk said with a soft smile, "I made some breakfast for us."</p><p>Pidge wrinkled her nose when she looked at Lance, "Yeah, but breakfast is for people with shirts. Go put on a shirt, Stick bug."</p><p>Lance laughed a bit, "What? Am I too irresistible?" he smirked, joking with his friends.</p><p>Hunk rolled his eyes with a laugh as well, "You can go eat Lance, she's just taking out her baby-rage on you because I keep winning."</p><p>The younger girl punched her friend's arm and looked back at the TV, starting the game without him. Hunk turned back quickly and continued playing as well. Lance stood up and stretched, going to his room for a shirt. He grabbed a random shirt from his closet. He slipped it on and looked at himself in his mirror. It was the maroon he always saw Keith wear colour. Lance was never a fan of red or dark red, but he didn't care. He walked out of his room and towards the small table. He sat down and ate the bacon and eggs on his plate. A classic breakfast, but forever his favourite.</p><p> </p><p>Lance grabbed his phone and checked the time, nearly choking on the bacon in his mouth.Holy shit, it was 10 am. He coughed and quickly got up from the table. Lance scurried to his room and shut the door behind him, slipping off his baggy pyjama pants and grabbing his jeans. He splashes his face with water and quickly dries it off, speed walking out of his room and to the front door. Lance fumbled for his keys and backpack, catching the attention of Pidge and hunk.</p><p>“Dude, you don’t work today,” Hunk told Lance, visibly confused.</p><p>“Yeah I do! I have to make this up Allura because I took Sunday off!” Lance said, opening the door quickly, “I trust you two to help me clean!” he shouted before slamming the door and heading to the staircase. It took him awhile but he managed to get down quickly.</p><p>Lance ran the rest of the way to the café. He squeezed through crowds of people on the busy sidewalk. He finally opened the door to the café a bit cautiously, but speedwalked to Allura’s office. </p><p>“Hi, I’m here, sorry. I forgot I had work today,” Lance said as he went over to grab his apron. Allura looked up from her work and sighed, “It’s fine, Lance. I’m expecting you to stay later today so you can clean all of the kitchen like you promised me Sunday.”</p><p>He finished tying the apron around his waist and shot his boss a finger gun with a smirk. Lance exited her office, starting off on his work.</p><p>The café was pretty busy all day. Lance made a bunch of orders and saw Keith arrive at noon like he always did. He had his sketchbook again. His eyes looked puffy as if he were crying for a long time. Lance finished taking somebody’s order and quickly went on his break, tapping in his co-worker, Rolo, to take his place in working the register. He began untying his apron and making his way to Keith’s usual spot. He threw the apron on the back of the chair and sat down, a big smile on his face. “Hey mullet,” Lance smirked, “Sleep well?”</p><p>Keith looked up at Lance with his bloodshot and bruised eyes. Lance immediately took a mental note of that. Keith nodded gently, now focusing on the boy in front of him. “I slept fine,” he told him. “Are you busy tonight?” Keith asked him, changing the subject quickly.</p><p>Lance tilted his head a bit but nodded, “Yeah, why?”</p><p>“I just-” he stopped to gather words, “I need advice.”</p><p>“On what? Dating?”</p><p>He shook his head, “No. I’ll tell you tonight, but I don’t want you feeling pity or anything. I just want your input and help on this whole disaster.”</p><p>Lance looked a bit worried, “Everything alright, Keith?”</p><p>Keith shook his head and shrugged his shoulders a bit, “I’m not sure.”</p><p>The boy looked at the other with a soft stare, reaching out for Keith’s hand gently for reassurance. He looked down and saw Lance’s hand on top of his, his face immediately melting. Keith quickly took his hand away and looked down at the table.</p><p>Lance took his back as well, the two of them sitting in silence for a bit. Lance finally broke the silence this time, “Sorry,” he apologized quietly.</p><p>“You’re fine,” Keith told him. </p><p>Silence again.</p><p>“So, let's meet on the beach? At 8?”</p><p>Keith nodded, “Sounds good. Here behind Altean?”</p><p>“Yeah, Long Beach is pretty,” Lance told him with a soft smile. “I’ll pick you up tonight if you want?”</p><p>“Yeah, I would like that,” Keith said quietly, smiling a bit too.</p><p>The two talked a bit more, Keith listening to the plans they had for their road-trip and helping out with ideas to save fuel and snacks.</p><p>Finally, Lance’s watch went off. He sighed and looked at Keith, “Tonight, Long Beach at 8 pm, Samurai.” Keith rolled his eyes at the nickname but couldn’t hold back the smile from forming on his face. “I’ll be there. I promise you,” Keith said.</p><p>They both began to get up from the table and exchanged waves. Keith walked out of the café and Lance went back to work for the last few hours. Lance had to stay a bit after 5 to clean the whole kitchen like he had promised Allura, so he waited until everybody had already left so that he could get straight to work. Didn’t take him long to clean up and once he did, he turned off the remaining lights and finally left his apron in Allura’s office. He grabbed his backpack and locked up the café.</p><p>Lance checked his phone for any messages and saw the time. Almost 8 pm. Was he really in the café for longer than he thought? Nonetheless, Lance began to make his way to the beach, finding a nice, empty spot in the sand for them. He set his backpack down next to him and sighed, waiting for Keith.</p><p>“You’re early,” a voice behind him said.</p><p>He turned around and there he was, in that stupid maroon hoodie, black jeans, and combat boots he always wore. </p><p>Keith.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>if i made you cry, i am so so so so sorry :(</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Uno</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Lance tries to help with what's been going through his frieneds head. Maybe this ending won't be so angsty</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>holy shit i am so sorry that i haven't updated in like a mO N tH. i've been super busy and had writer's block for a bit. i've also bee super melancholic and along with the BLM movement ? my brains been full of thoughts and mostly negative ones. again, i'm so so so sO sorry for not updating earlier hhhh</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A few hours earlier</p><p>Keith sat on the floor, cleaning out a dog kennel. He sprayed the inside of the cage with a bottle next to him and wiped it down with a towel. The cage he was cleaning out belonged to an old dog named Sadie who was recently adopted to go help on a Ranch with herding sheep and cows. It made Keith a bit sad that she was no longer there because he was so connected to her. Then again, he was connected to almost all the animals in the shelter.</p><p>As he cleaned the bars of the box, he heard footsteps coming down the hall. He recognized the way they walked even with all the dogs barking and making noise in the room next door. Shiro walked in, heading over to where Keith was seated on the floor.</p><p>"I didn't think you would show up today," he told Keith.</p><p>He shrugged, "I didn't either."</p><p>"Feeling better?"</p><p>Keith continued to clean, "I guess. I stopped by the café on my break today and saw Lance."</p><p>Shiro sat down next to him, the keys on his belt making a bit of noise on the tiled floor, "That's good to hear. Did you leave the house early?"</p><p>He nodded slowly, not looking at Shiro for even a second.</p><p>The older male sighed and looked at Keith, knowing that he didn't want to talk about his feelings at all. Keith did that a lot. "Have you thought about what you're gonna do on the 30th with your mum?" he asked, pulling out his phone and checking the date.</p><p>Tuesday, April 23rd, 20XX.</p><p>Keith sighed and finally looked at Shiro, "No. I don't know if I even want to see her."</p><p>"Hey, come on now. Give her a chance. I'm sure she has a good reason," Shiro told him.</p><p>Keith quickly got up, grabbing the spray bottle and towel, "I'm not dealing with this right now," he muttered quietly, walking a shelf.</p><p>Shiro got up too, standing next to the kennel, "Keith, you can't just keep running away from your problems."</p><p>"I've done it before, I can do it over and over again," he told the other male as he put down the cleaning supplies on a rack. Keith began to open the door and finally looked at Shiro. "I can deal with this myself."</p><p>Keith walked into the dog room, grabbing a collar with the name 'Kosmo' on it. He walked over to a kennel and opened it, hooking the collar around the neck of a black and white border collie. He closed the kennel door and walked out with the dog. The two left the building, walking around for a few minutes.</p><p>They stopped at a dog park and all Keith could think about was how he was going to deal with 'meeting' his mum for the first time in almost two decades. Kosmo sat next to Keith on the same bench, laying his head in his lap gently. He pets the dog's head gently and lets out a sigh of relief. The fresh air, the dog in his lap and the sun setting were all so calming. For a moment, he forgot about all his troubles. He forgot about his troubled past, his 'brother', the barista who was giving him mixed signals, all of it.</p><p>Just for a second, he felt light. Nothing heavy on his chest for him to worry about.</p><p> </p><p>X</p><p> </p><p>Present time</p><p>Lance smiled as he observed the boy who was standing there. Keith made his way over and sat down next to him in the sand. "I'm gonna be walking home with sand in my pants now," he snickered lightly, looking at Lance.</p><p>He laughed with him, looking at the night sky. They were silent for a minute and then Lance finally spoke, "So, what did you need help with?" he asked, his gaze shifting to Keith now. He forgot how gorgeous Keith looked in the moonlight. His pale skin illuminated and his eyes were prettier than he remembered.</p><p>Keith brought his knees to his chest and hugged them, letting out a sigh. "I don't want your pity or anything. I'm just telling you this so you get the whole idea, got it?"</p><p>Lance nodded.</p><p>He looked up at the sky and took a deep breath, closing his eyes as a soft breeze blew through his jet black hair. "When I was 7 years old, my dad died and right after, my mum abandoned me," Keith started, "I've spent almost 20 years living with a teen who babysat me when I was a toddler. He told me that my dad died but he doesn't know how he did. Anyway, to make a long story short, my mum reached out to him and spoke to him about coming to see me after so long. She's coming next week but I don't think I want to see her," he swallowed a lump in his throat.</p><p>Lance looked at the boy, frowning. How could he not feel bad? He didn't know anything about Keith until suddenly he's handed all of his life tragedies. He put a hand on Keith's back gently and sighed, "Honestly, your feelings sound super valid dude. I would be mad if my mum left me too."</p><p>Keith nodded, still not looking at Lance and surprisingly not pushing his hand away. It was weirdly comforting.</p><p>"I guess just try and get her point of view on it? Take her somewhere and just talk about your feelings. She obviously had to have a reason to leave you without saying anything. I know it seems weird to you that she wants to see you, but I'm sure she missed you just as much. I would miss my kid too if I left them for good."</p><p>He listened to all of Lance's advice, soaking in everything but staying incredibly silent. Keith's fingers fumbled with one another and he finally spoke, "I just want answers. Shiro said that she had to have left me for my own good. I can't get over the fact that not only did she not tell me my dad died, but she left me. For years. She deserted me and didn't even bother to check on me now and then."</p><p>Keith's hands crumpled into fists, his eyebrows furrowed downward and his eyes were glassy. Lance noticed how tense the other became and moved a bit closer, hoping to comfort him. He hesitantly wrapped an arm around Keith and heard him sigh in defeat. Keith's face was buried into his legs, his hands on his head now.</p><p>Lance looked at Keith, a worried gaze in his blue eyes was visible. "You can cry if you need to, man," Lance said quietly. "I get it."</p><p>Almost as if on command, Keith let it all out. Tears fell onto the sand beneath him and his back heaved with every quiet sob he let out. Lance felt incredibly awkward but he knew that this was probably bothering Keith more than anything. He couldn't imagine holding in all this grief, confusion and anger.</p><p>Before he knew it, Lance was embracing Keith. He was holding him close to his chest. Keith slowly wrapped his arms around Lance's waist, crying into the boy's shoulder. Lance rested his head on Keith's. He wanted to protect him from the world. He was so vulnerable right now that Lance just wanted to keep him safe. He hugged him tighter, almost as if to give him a reassuring squeeze.</p><p>The two sat there in the sand, the sound of the waves crashing calmed them both down. After what felt like forever, Lance finally spoke, "Feel better, Keith?"</p><p>Keith didn't say a word, he just nodded slowly. Lance tried to let go of the hug but Keith clung onto him for dear life. He laughed gently and hugged him some more, "Told you I was irresistible."</p><p>"Shut up, McClain," Keith's hoarse voice grumbled.</p><p>"Ok, ok," Lance snickered, a small smile plastered on his dumb freckled face.</p><p>They held each other in a tight embrace for what seemed like forever. As Lance held onto him, he felt Keith relax. His breathing was slowed, he wasn't sniffling anymore and he wasn't so tense. Lance relaxed too, feeling safe with this boy. It was ridiculous but holding Keith close to him gave him a sense of security. He barely even knew this boy and yet here they were, hugging it out on the beach at night.</p><p>Eventually, Lance was convinced that Keith had fallen asleep. He nudged him lightly and heard nothing in response except for a grunt.</p><p>"We all good back there?" Lance asked, eating his back gently.</p><p>To his surprise, he nodded. They finally let go of the hug and looked at each other. Lance watched as the wind blew through Keith's hair in the night ever so gently. Keith couldn't stop staring at those eyes. Stupid pretty blue eyes. They both just stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. They both sat there in the sand gazing upon each and every flaw and imperfection they each had. Keith finally broke the silence,</p><p>"Would you like to come over tonight?" he muttered.</p><p>Lance was still caught up in his staring that the question took him even more by surprise. He felt his face heat up a bit, a familiar feeling he had to get used to around Keith. A small yet sweet smile graced his pink lips. He nodded, "Sure."</p><p>Keith found himself smiling too. He got up and dusted the sand off his pants and butt. He put a hand out for Lance and he took it, still smiling like a dork. He grabbed his backpack and threw it over his shoulder as the two began walking off the beach. They trotted down an almost empty sidewalk, watching the few cars on the road go by. "My place is pretty far," Keith said in an apologetic tone as he walked side-by-side with the cute boy. Lance shrugged, not minding having to walk a bit, "We can call Uber or something if you're tired."</p><p>He nodded, taking out his phone and sitting on the curb, Lance following him. Keith was silent for a few minutes and finally set his phone down, letting out a sigh as the two young men sat there, waiting for their ride. "Should be here in 5 minutes or something like that," Keith muttered, Lance listening.</p><p>Lance looked over at him and smiled gently. "Anything I need to know before going to your place?"</p><p>"I'll sneak you into the house. I don't want my brother and his husband to see you because they'll ask questions. They get pretty annoying."</p><p>"Are you not allowed to bring people home or something?" he asked, tilting his head out of curiosity as he awaited an answer from the male sat next to him.</p><p>Keith shook his head, "No, it's not that. I just don't want them to ask questions, ok?" he told him, finally looking at him. Keith let out a sigh, "I'm sorry," he muttered.</p><p>"No, it's ok! I totally get it, dude," Lance said to him, smiling a bit to keep him from getting too upset.</p><p>The two stayed silent for what felt like forever. It was an awkward silence. It didn't settle right in their small area on the curbside. Finally, the driver had finally come to pick them up. Keith sat in the passenger seat and Lance in the back. They both buckled up and Keith turned to the driver, greeting him with a soft smile. "Santa Monica," he spoke, "724 on 10th street."</p><p>The driver put in the address into his phone and began to drive. Lance slumped in the leather seat, checking his phone. He saw a few messages from his two best friends in the group chat, a few were still being sent at that very moment. Lance thought it would be funny to just send a picture of him in the dark car. He took a picture of himself leaning against the door and sent it to them with little to no context except for, 'Lol I'm getting kidnapped.'</p><p>Before his friends could text him and talk to him, he turned off his phone and put it in his pocket, letting out a sigh and resting his head on the side of the door, looking out the window. He listened to Keith and their driver speak quietly, not wanting to eavesdrop. Lance closed his eyes gently, not wanting to fall asleep for real although it was a 30-minute drive. Now he wondered why they didn't just head to his place, it was literally in front of the beach. Lance shrugged to himself and felt his eyes get heavy, still listening to the two men in the front seat exchange incoherent mumbles.</p><p> </p><p>X</p><p> </p><p>Lance panted heavily, finally making his way through the window in Keith's room. The pale boy went over to close it, hoping Adam and Shiro wouldn't find the ladder outside his window. Lance sat on Keith's bed and looked around, examining the posters on the walls and the little souvenirs on his dresser, along with his Bachelor's and some pictures of two men and himself. Keith locked the window and turned on the lamp in his room to illuminate it.</p><p>"Welcome to my room," Keith said quietly, leaning against his dresser that was covered with little toys and treasures. "Sorry it's a mess," he muttered.</p><p>Lance shrugged, smiling a bit as he looked to Keith, "It's fine," he said, "My room's even worse," Lance chuckled, throwing himself back on Keith's bed with a sigh. It was surprisingly comfy. Keith went over and sat next to him, looking out his window again and noticing his telescope was out of place from Lance coming in.</p><p>"So now what ?" Lance asked, sitting up and taking off his hoodie. He threw it on the floor along with his backpack. He looked to Keith and all he got was a shrug in response. Then, he thought.</p><p>"Want me to bring food up here so we can watch something on my laptop?" Keith asked him.</p><p>Lance beamed, "Sure, but I get to pick the show we watch," he smirked.</p><p>Keith rolled his eyes, unable to hold back a smile, "You chose what we watched last time, though," he told him.</p><p>"So what? I promise you won't regret it" Lance smiled.</p><p>And so, with a huff of annoyance, Keith got up from his bed and went downstairs to the kitchen. He saw Adam and Shiro in the living cuddling on the couch and rolled his eyes once more. Shiro turned his head and looked at Keith, squinting his eyes a bit suspiciously.</p><p>Keith looked through the cupboards for any snacks they had and put anything he found on the island. He turned around to examine the junk food he had already picked and was met with his brother. Shiro was standing there, arms crossed and a perplexed look on his face. "You're tense," he said, examining the younger boy, "Are you still upset about earlier? I've told you, we can talk about it instead of just running from it." Keith furrowed his eyebrows at the older male and groaned, "Shiro, I don't want to talk about it right now," Keith responded in a grumble, pushing past Shiro and grabbing the bag of chips and a pack of cookies he had found.</p><p>He started walking toward the stairs when he felt a grip on his wrist. Keith looked back and saw Shiro again. He tried to yank away his hand but the other's grip tightened a bit more. Keith gave him that horrifying glare, but he could notice that glint of worry in Shiro's eyes.</p><p>"Keith," he started softly. "I know you don't want to talk about this."</p><p>He looked away from his older brother, fighting off the urge to break down into tears.</p><p>Shiro swallowed a lump in his throat, "Just know, you have Adam and I here, ok? We don't want you to bottle this all up inside as you did in college."</p><p>The wave of memories rushed back to Keith. All the nights he cried in his dorm and watched his phone buzz with a new call and voicemail from Shiro every minute or so. That's when they had decided to tell Keith about his father. He was upset, mad, angry. He snapped out of his flashbacks and looked at Shiro, really trying not to cry.</p><p>Keith let out a sigh "I know," his quiet voice broke. "I just need to think alone."</p><p>Finally, he yanked away from Shiro grasp forcefully and walked up the stair to his room. He could feel Shiro's eyes burning into the back of his skull. He went up to his door and swiftly entered his room, closing and locking the door behind him. Lance was still sat at the edge of the bed, his back facing the door. He looked up from his phone, turned his head and smiled at Keith. "Picked the good snacks for me, hm?" he joked, completely turning his body around to face the boy.</p><p>He rolled his eyes as he made his way to the bed, sitting down on the opposite side of Lance. He threw the bags of food on the bed and let out a sigh, looking down at the floor. Lance crawled over and sat next to him.</p><p>"You still thinking about next week?" he asked Keith quietly.</p><p>Keith nodded, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. He blinked a few times and looked at Lance. "Did you pick something?" Keith asked, wanting to change the subject.</p><p>Lance nodded and smiled, "Yep."</p><p>"What did you pick?"</p><p>"It's a surprise," the boy smiled at him, winking.</p><p>Lance flipped open Keith's laptop, scrolling through Netflix and picking 'Stranger Things', a show Keith had heard about but surprisingly, never binged. He had heard it was really good, but he never got around to it. He raised an eyebrow, a bit perplexed, "So no movie?"</p><p>"Of course not! This wasn't on your watch-list, so I figured I would introduce you to the world of this show," Lance smiled, putting on the show and starting it. "We can binge it all night, it's easy to finish in few days," he explained, laying down on his stomach and hugging a pillow to watch the show. Keith turned off the lamp on his nightstand and did the same, using his stuffie, Milo, as a substitute for the pillow. Keith let out a sigh as he listened to the opening music, finding it eerily calming. As it continued to form the words, Keith spoke, "Are you going to spend to the night?" he asked to make sure.</p><p>Lance turned to look at him, shrugging, "If you want me to," he said grabbing some cookies and beginning to snack on them. "If not, that's fine. I can head home if you need me to," he said quietly, watching the show begin.</p><p>Keith shook his head, "No, it's fine," he mumbled, "I'll let you stay tonight but don't you have work tomorrow?" Keith asked, wanting to make sure he wouldn't be rushing in the morning to get ready. Lance nodded, "Yeah, but I get in later tomorrow. I have to make up a sick day I took off. I'm cleaning the whole kitchen again," he snickered, his eyes still focused on the show he probably re-watched multiple times since he was practically lip-syncing exactly what the actors were saying. It was kinda freaky but cool.</p><p>The two continued to watch the show, staying silent most of the time except letting out a few giggles every now and then whenever one of the characters said something dumb or funny. Before they knew it, it was already 2 am. Keith was still invested in the show, already about to start season 2. He hadn't noticed that Lance had fallen asleep. He looked over and saw him sleeping, peacefully, not making a sound at all. He almost thought Lance was dead. He slowly closed the laptop, turning to face the ceiling and closing his eyes with a sigh. It didn't matter right now that he was sleeping next to the cutest boy in the world, Keith was just tired. He wanted to sleep calmly.</p><p> </p><p>X</p><p> </p><p>Lance woke up the next morning, feeling his phone vibrating with notifications from last night and his alarm to wake up. He quickly tried to sit up, but couldn't move. He groggily turned to look to his side and saw Keith was there. Cuddling him. Lance felt his eyes widen and his face became red. He felt feverish. Is this what it was like cuddling Keith? A stranger he barely knew?</p><p>He began to have a panic attack, wondering how he was going to move Keith peacefully without waking him up. Another problem was that Lance was holding him. Hugging him. Both arms around him.</p><p>'Great job, McClain. You're in deep now,' his brain began to rev up with the insults.</p><p>For some reason, Lance couldn't take his eyes off the boy. His natural beauty was insane. The way how one side of his face was squished by Lance's arm as a pillow, his black locks partially covering his face, his pale skin that was just so kissable. No Lance, stop that, you don't like him. Lance grabbed his phone from his back pocket and saw spammed messages from his group chat. He checked the time and it was 5 in the morning. He could see the sunlight slowly peering through Keith's windows. Lance heard people outside his door, mumbling incoherent words. Shit, he thought, was that his guardians or brother or something? Lance noticed the door handle jiggling and he quickly faked to be asleep.</p><p> He heard the door open and heard somebody gasp quietly, assuming they noticed Lance was there. Then he heard the door close, the footsteps moving away. Lance opened his eyes again and let out a sigh of relief, still feeling horrible that he was noticed.</p><p>Lance slowly pushed Keith away from him, getting up quickly and grabbing his backpack off the floor. Lance went over to his desk, grabbing a piece of paper and a pen to write a note. He began to write quickly and sloppily. He continued to turn around, hearing the footsteps out in the hall. It made him anxious. He finally finished the note, putting it under Keith’s phone and throwing his backpack over his shoulder. As he opened the window and sat on the edge, grabbing onto the ladder, he turned back and looked at Keith who was very much still asleep. He was in the same exact position as he was when they were cuddling. Cuddling. That didn’t mean anything, right? Keith probably wouldn’t even know what Lance was talking about if he told him. He slowly climbed down the ladder, closing the window and practically sliding down.</p><p>He looked up at the window once more and let out a sigh, feeling bad for leaving Keith like it was a one-night stand. Lance jumped the gate and went into his front yard. He started walking down the sidewalk, texting Pidge and Hunk to let them know that he was fine. After reassuring them, he called for a ride home so he could be ready for work. Hopefully he would see Keith again.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>that's a groovy ending :0 </p><p>comment something, it keeps me motivated ! i'd love to hear from you :), i'll answer any questions and comments you guys have uwu</p><p>insta:<br/>pxniniiii (cosplay)<br/>ieatsoupwithaspork (art)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Always</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>TW: TOPIC OF DEPRESSION, GRIEF</p><p>a mini panic-attack from the disaster homo to start off the chapter. finally reuniting an emo mess with his mum. a little bit of a fight and finally an insane turn of events ?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>ohmygodimsosorryihaventupdatedinforever anyway hullo :) a lot happened while i was gone so im terribly sorry for not having updated sooner. im working on ayby so i should be updating it soon as well. i tried to focus on myself a bit during june so happy late pride month as well. this chapter hurt to write since it was mentally tolling. a very close member of my family passed during this so its just been super hard lol. strap yourselves in for this emotional rollercoaster</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Holy shit, Takashi,” Adam said, closing the door behind him with a grin on his face. “I told you I was right!” he said. Shiro looked up from his phone since he was still laying in bed. He raised one eyebrow, slightly confused as he tried to recall last night. Shiro then gasped quietly, “So somebody was there?” he semi-whispered, sitting up in bed and covering his shirtless body with the covers. Adam nodded, “Oh yeah,” he smirked, “I knew something was up,” he said, going back over to his side of the bed.</p><p>Shiro rubbed his eyes gently, “Obviously. The ladder had to be outside his window for a reason,” he spoke. He yawned slightly and stretched his arm up. Adam got back under the covers with his lover. "Do you think it's that boy Keith went on a date with?" Shiro asked again to make sure. Adam nodded, "Tall and tan, just like he described him the first time. It's gotta be him," he was sure.</p><p>The taller, more masculine built, male laid back down and wrapped his arms around Adam's middle to hold him close. "That's probably why he was sneaking snacks upstairs," Shiro murmured, closing his eyes again.</p><p>Adam was still sitting up in bed, nodding. "Y'know what, I'm gonna take a picture of them," he smiled, grabbing his phone off of his nightstand and getting out of bed again."</p><p>Shiro let out a sigh, just wanting to cuddle. He, too, trudged out of bed with an exhausted groan as he followed his husband to go check on Keith and the mystery boy in his bed whom they believed to be Lance from the café. Before Shiro even made it to the door of their bedroom, he listened to Adam let out a quiet huff. “Shit,” Adam hissed under his breath as he noticed how there was nobody next to Keith anymore. Shiro let his shoulders come up and then fall, "Maybe there wasn't anybody," he murmured as he stood next to Adam at the door. "Takashi, I am telling you I saw somebody cuddling him," the tan male insisted with another huff. Keith shifted in his sleep a bit, listening to the two argue like grandparents. He slowly sat up, Shiro watching him and quickly closing the door. Keith's head turned to the closed door once he heard it click shut. He looked around, becoming familiar with his environment and trying to recall last night. Then he remembered.</p><p>"Lance?" he whispered, letting his eyes slowly open as he looked around for the other, feeling cold without the other there. Keith turned his head to his window and stretched his arms up with a grunt. He slowly got up and shuffled over to it. It wasn't locked, so he probably left early for work. Keith noticed the ladder was still there, so he panicked a bit as he scurried for his sandals so he could go down and take down the ladder before Adam and Shiro could see it. The pale boy rolled up the sleeves of his hoodie since he had fallen asleep with it last night and swiftly left out his bedroom door and headed downstairs. He could hear Shiro and Adam in the kitchen as he finally reached the kitchen and headed to the back door.</p><p>"Good morning to you too," Shiro said as he sat at the breakfast table, sipping his coffee and scrolling through his phone. Keith turned his head to look at Shiro as he walked by, humming in response. "You're in a rush," he pointed out as he let his eyes turn up from his electronics to look at his brother. "What's up?"</p><p>Keith slowed down a bit as Shiro admired the fact he was in a rush. "No reason," he mumbled, "I just need to grab something from outside," Shiro nodded, knowing that wasn't why.</p><p>Adam smirked to himself as he continued to make breakfast, "And that thing is?" he asked, cocking a brow and turning his head to look at Keith.</p><p>He swallowed a lump in his throat, "A plant," he stammered, "I brought it home yesterday from a nursery and I wanted to leave it out for the night," Keith nodded, anxiously running a hand through his matted black locks. He finally reached the door and unlocked it, heading out to where his window and the ladder were. Keith tried to take it down quickly, but it wasn't easy. He struggled for a bit, feeling something form in the pit of his stomach as if Shiro and Adam already knew. Keith didn't care right now, though, he just needed to take this down. He finally did and laid it horizontally against the house before heading inside and taking off his hoodie. Adam had already finished breakfast and was seated with his husband. Keith walked past them, "I'll be down in a bit," he murmured as he walked up the stairs. He closed his bedroom door behind himself as he walked in, throwing his hoodie and pants onto the ground and putting on some basketball shorts. He went for his phone and noticed a little folded paper. Keith cocked a brow in confusion, opening it slowly and reading the letter:</p><p>"Hey, mullet-"</p><p>Wow. Charming.</p><p>"Hope you slept well. I gotta blast since I need to get ready for work so I'm writing this to let you know I didn't just leave randomly 'cause I'm not like that. Last night was super fun. Sorry about falling asleep :( Stop by the café today, I'll give you a little treat if you aren't busy.</p><p>"Lots of love, Lancey Lance :)</p><p>"P.S. I didn't know you were a good cuddler ;)"</p><p>Keith felt his heart rate pick up as he read the last two lines, feeling his face turn a bright red. What was he talking about? Did they cuddle? Did Lance see him like that or was he just teasing? He put down the note and ran a hand through his hair again. 'Holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit-' his brain began to scream. It was all so confusing. He brought both of his hands to his face, groaning. He hoped it didn't mean anything- but deep down, he knew it meant everything to him. Keith frowned and let out a shaky sigh before getting up to go back downstairs. He stopped at the bathroom to wash his face, hoping to ease the redness before he headed to the kitchen to eat his breakfast.</p><p> </p><p>XX</p><p> </p><p>The rest of their days went by pretty normal. Lance would wake up every day and get ready to go to work and see Keith. The other would wake up whenever he could to either go with Shiro to the shelter or go see Lance. Before they knew it, the 30th had arrived. Lance woke up around 7 in the morning to a dozen calls from Keith. He was confused. All the calls had been made at around 2 in the morning, why was he up so late? He checked the time and turned off his alarm that was about to go off in a few minutes. Lance looked at all the calls and decided he would return one, dialling Keith's number and bringing the phone up to his ear. After a few rings, Keith picked up. "Lance," he murmured with a breathy tone.</p><p>"Hey mullet," his morning voice croaked, "What's up? Everything ok?" he asked, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.</p><p>Keith shook his head and swallowed a lump in his throat before answering Lance. "Yeah," he huffed, "I'm ok. Just-" he took in a shaky breath, "Today's the day, Lance," Keith murmured. Lance suddenly remembered, pulling the phone away from his ear and checking the date quickly. "Oh shit, yeah," the tan male mumbled. "You got this, man," he reassured the other, finally sitting up in bed and looking at his window covered by thick black curtains.</p><p>"I dunno," Keith slurred, obviously exhausted.</p><p>Lance nodded, "Yes you do. Do you have a plan for today?"</p><p>"Not exactly," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "I'm gonna take her to a garden with a Koi pond- she always did love feeding the fish. Then I'll bring her by the café to get something, I'm not sure, I'll just take her wherever," Keith huffed, audibly frustrated. "Need help with anything?" Lance asked him, scratching his stomach gently, letting his fingers lightly trail over his scar. "No, Lance, it's fine," Keith mumbled, "I got this. Thank you, though," he smiled to himself.</p><p>"Of course, man. I know how frustrating it is."</p><p>They both stayed in silence for a minute before Lance broke the silence this rare time. "Not to kill the mood," he chuckled quietly, "But I need to get ready for work. I have to leave in an hour."</p><p>Keith gasped quietly, "Right, sorry. I didn't mean to spam call you last night either, I'm sorry," he rambled a bit nervously. "You were the first person who came to mind and all that," Keith felt a light blush dust his pale face, trying to shoo away the feeling but failing. "Awe, Keith. I was your first option?" Lance cooed.</p><p>"Shut up."</p><p>Lance let out a quiet snicker before sitting on the edge of his bed. "Stop by today, ok?" he told him, "I wanna meet your mum."</p><p>"I will, I promise," Keith smiled to himself once more. "Go get ready, Lance," he told the other. "I'll see you later," he said before hanging up.</p><p>Before Lance could say bye, he heard the call cut off, frowning a bit. He believed in Keith. He knew he was going to be able to get through this.</p><p>Lance got up and shuffled to his bathroom. He took a quick shower, dried his hair and did his usual skin-care routine. Lance grabbed a baggy shirt and those nice ripped jeans he always wore, tucking in the shirt. He cuffed the ends of his jeans and slipped on white socks before heading back into the bathroom and spritzing himself with the vanilla-scented body spray he always wore. He wanted to make a good impression on his mum. Lance trotted over to grab his backpack and phone before slipping on his Converse and tying the long shoelaces around each ankle. Lance scurried out of the apartment rather quickly wanting to prepare the café to look prettier than normal although it wouldn't even make a huge difference.</p><p>A few hours passed and there he was. Keith was seated downstairs in the living room, having dressed nicely for his mum today since Shiro wanted him to look presentable. He had barely gotten any sleep last night. He was dressed in a short-sleeved button-up that had faint pink palm trees on it. The shirt was tucked in and the first three buttons were undone so he looked decent. The pale boy anxiously tapped his foot on the rug of the living room, fiddling with his hands and constantly fixing his hair. Shiro came downstairs, dressed casually as he usually did. "C'mon, Keith," he said as he walked towards the door and grabbed his keys. "I need to go to work after we pick her up," Keith nodded, slowly getting up. They both left the house and entered the car, buckling up. Before Shiro started the car, he turned to look at Keith, knowing what was going through his mind. "Hey buddy," he said softly, "You got this, ok?"</p><p>The younger boy felt the tears begin to prick at the corners of his eyes, the lump form in his throat and the fuzzy feeling in his nose. "Yeah," Keith's voice broke as he whispered that, "I got this," he said, nodding his head slowly before finally looking up at Shiro. "What if she hates how I look now? What if she doesn't like that I'm gay?" he started asking him, feeling a tear stream down his face as his body shook gently. Shiro shook his head and brought him into a tight embrace, "Keith, she's going to be so proud of you," he whispered, feeling the other's pain. "If she supports me for being with Adam ever since we were your babysitters, there's no way she won't support you, Keith.</p><p>He clung to Shiro, feeling so stupid for crying. They both sat there for a bit, the only sounds were Keith's quiet sniffles and the wind blowing at the palm trees outside the car. Keith let go of his brother and wiped his tears with the back of his hand before looking up at him. "We need to go, she's probably already there," Keith mumbled, facing his window and letting out a sigh with a few more sniffles.</p><p>The ride to the airport was silent. Too silent. Keith was minutes away from meeting his mother. After years of wondering where she was, he was going to see her. Shiro turned up the music to fill in the uncomfortable silence, hoping it would calm down Keith as well. He pulled into the parking lot of the airport and got out with Keith, holding his hand gently for reassurance as if he were a little kid. He grumbled something under his breath and yanked his hand away, walking over to the large exit door. Shiro took out his phone to start texting her, hoping she arrived safely. Keith paced around anxiously, shoving his hands in his pockets and staring up into the sky and taking in deep breaths. Shiro tried to call her cell phone, but all his attempts to reach her were unsuccessful. Before he knew it, a lady dressed in a purple shirt, a black leather jack, leggings and boots stumbled out of the exit door with her shoulder holding her phone to her face. She had a backpack on and a paper bag in one hand, trying to fix herself. The lady's hair was a black- almost deep purple-like colour and was tied into a long braid resting on her shoulder. She was speaking what Keith and Shiro thought to be Korean since they didn't understand a thing she was saying. They watched her try and gather her things before finally looking up and gasping as she noticed the two men. Her free hand covered her mouth as she mumbled something into her phone before ending the call and slowly walking towards Keith and Shiro. "Mum?" Keith asked quietly, feeling his voice break and his breath hitch. It was Krolia. She swallowed a lump in her throat and walked faster, "Keith," she whispered, finally coming face-to-face with her child. She shoved her paper bag onto a side pocket on her backpack. She was just a bit taller than Keith. "Hey kiddo," she said quietly, her voice breaking as well as she brought both her hands up to hold Keith's face carefully. He backed away a bit, letting only her fingertips linger on his face. Krolia let a tear fall from her face as she watched Keith back away from her, trying to smile because she was so happy to finally see her son. "Oh my god, you look just like your father."</p><p>Keith let the tears begin to fall down his face as he looked at his mum almost emotionless. Shiro stood next to Krolia, putting a hand on her shoulder gently. "You've both grown so much," she said through tears, looking back and forth at the two. "Kiddo, it's me," Krollia whispered again, wiping her tears with the sleeve of her leather jacket. Keith nodded, "I know," he whispered back, trying to take it all in. Shiro let out a deep breath, "I don't want to kill the moment, but I'm late for work. Want me to drop you guys off at the Koi Pond place?" Keith nodded, Krolia looking over at Shiro, "Koi pond?" she asked before turning back to look at her song, "You remembered," Krolia said, feeling more tears trickle down his face.</p><p>The younger male inhaled a deep breath and nodded, "Mum, we need to go," he murmured before starting to walk off. Krolia watched his start to slowly get ahead, Shiro staying behind with her and wrapping an arm around her shoulder as reassurance, leading her to the car as well.</p><p>Shiro dropped them off near the café which was relatively close to the area where Keith had wanted to take his mum. "Krolia, if he's giving you any trouble just call me," Shiro snickered, causing her to laugh as well. Keith and his mother got out of the car and stepped onto the crowded sidewalk with lots of other people. Keith watched Shiro drive away and felt his heart drop into his stomach when he felt a hand on his shoulder, "Hey kiddo," Krolia said again with a sweet smile. "So where are you taking me?" "Just a Garden House," Keith murmured in response to Krolia. "It's this way," he said before beginning to walk, yet waiting for his mum to catch up. Keith shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, Krolia doing the sam but finding her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket. "So how's life been? Almost 20 years," she said but was cut off by Keith, "Let's just wait to talk at the Garden House, ok?" Krolia nodded, knowing Keith's feelings and actions were valid. He had every right to be mad. They walked in silence the whole way to the garden house, the only sounds coming from the people talking and laughing on the sidewalk. Eventually, they made it. Keith paid a bit of money to get themselves a little area with a Koi pond and such. They both walked around and finally found themselves a bench in front of a little pond and beneath a cherry blossom tree. It was quiet and calming. Keith had packed bread crumbs to feed the koi so that they didn't have to buy any. Krolia let out a sigh as she seated herself on the bench, smiling sweetly and looking up at the sky which was partially blocked by the cherry blossom leaves. "This is wonderful, Keith," she grinned, turning her head to admire her son. Keith was looking down at his feet, trying not to fiddle with his fingers. "I knew you would like it."</p><p>"Now," she started, "Since we are finally here, how's life been treating you? Do you still have Milo?" Keith nodded. "He sits on my dresser now." "Good to hear he still has your back, he always has."</p><p>Krolia grabbed a few bread crumbs and threw them into the pond in front of them, watching as the fish gathered around and began to eat the bread. "You're all big now. And to think you were almost 8 years old when I last saw you."</p><p>Keith nodded, looking down at the fish. They were silent for a minute before the pale boy spoke, "Why did you leave?" he asked quietly, feeling the lump form in his throat again. Krolia let out a quiet, yet shaky, sigh. "Well," she started quietly. "I remember that day as if it were yesterday. Your father didn't come home because something happened."</p><p>"Shiro told me 12 years too late."</p><p>She nodded, "I remember you saw me cry. I was at my lowest and I knew I wouldn't be able to take care of you, so I left you with the Shirogane family. I regret it because although Takashi was your babysitter, he was only 15. So really, his parents had to take care of you and raise you. I decided to move back to Korea so I could get a fresh start but really that only drove my depression deeper," Krolia cried silently, sniffling in between a few words.</p><p>Keith shook his head, "I know this isn't an excuse for leaving you. I should have been more rational but I wasn't thinking right. You have every reason to be upset, but I just want you to know I didn't do this to hurt you, Keith. I don’t mind if you hate me, ‘cause kiddo, if I were you, I would  probably hate me too," Krolia said, letting the tears fall from her face and onto the ground in front of her. Her son began to feel the tears prick at the corners of his eyes as well, gently yet anxiously scratching at his arm.</p><p>"15 years without any closure," Keith muttered, "15 years of not knowing where you went or what happened to my dad. 15 years of being told that Shiro was my real brother and I actually believed it. All these years I just wanted to know if I was the reason you both disappeared out of my life."</p><p>Krolia shuffled a bit closer to her son and put an arm around him in a comforting manner but Keith shifted away from her. "Keith, you were never the reason I left," Krolia whispered to him, "I know I shouldn't have, and I'm really sorry."</p><p>"I was young and dumb," she continued, sniffling, "I've changed now. If you could give me a chance to prove myself, that would mean the world to me."</p><p>Keith swallowed a lump in his throat and sat there in silence with his mum for a minute or two. "Today," he mumbled, "I'll give you a chance," Keith said, rubbing his eyes gently and letting out a sigh from his nose. "I have the whole day planned out for us so please, let's just forget all our worries and enjoy each other."</p><p>Krolia nodded, "Thank you, kiddo," she finally smiled, looking at him and extended her arms a bit, "Can I at least get a hug from you?" she chuckled. Keith hesitantly moved closer to her and hugged her tightly, hiding his face in her shoulder. They both sat there in silence once more, with the exceptions of the water moving and the cherry blossom tree leaves rustling above them. Keith forgot how amazing a hug from his mum felt. Her scent from when he was younger still lingered.</p><p>They finally let go and Keith admired her fondly, examining the wrinkles on the outer corners of her eyes that weren't there when he was a kid. Her eye bags and faint freckles on her ageing skin. Krolia did the same and took in all these new features that she wasn't familiar with. His long black hair, his pale skin with a few scars that reassembled cigarette burns and scratches. His dark purple eyes that she gave him. She loved the way his teeth were just slightly crooked due to the fact he stopped wearing his retainer after they removed his braces. Krolia felt so proud of being the mother of such a handsome kid. She let out a sigh of relief and looked away, “Well kiddo, weren’t you going to take me out somewhere?” she asked with a quiet chuckle. Keith nodded, sniffling a bit more, “Right. You sure you don’t want to stay here a bit more? We still have bread for the fish.”</p><p>It wouldn’t hurt to spend a bit more time with the fish, right? Krolia nodded, “That sounds nice,” she smiled, turning to look at the water before grabbing a piece of bread and throwing it into the pond for them to eat some of it. </p><p>An hour or so passed and they finally left once their bread finished. Keith led his mum around Long Beach, taking her over to Altean. “My friend works here, he wanted to meet you,” Keith told her, opening the door for her and letting her enter the sweet little coffee shop first. He sat down with her at his spot by the window and looked around for Lance. The tan Cuban boy was making drinks when Keith arrived. He shuffled over to the pick up window and called a name to come pick up their order. Lance looked around for the person he called for but was caught off guard by Keith. They locked eyes and Lance’s first instinct was to grin, waving his hand excitedly. Keith let out a soft chuckle at Lance’s dorkiness, smiling sweetly. Krolia noticed the way they both looked at each other, feeling a smile of her own begin to creep up on her face. “Is that him?” Krolia asked with a quiet laugh. Keith nodded, watching as Lance talked to the customer who came over to pick up their drink and snack. Lance put a finger up as if telling them to wait before walking off. Keith watched as he exchanged a few words with his co-worker and took off his apron. Lance trotted over to Keith and the lady with a sweet smile.</p><p>“Hey mullet!” Lance said, placing a hand on the other’s head and playfully ruffling his hair. Keith blushed at that, furrowing his eyebrow and pushing Lance’s hand away with a huff but nonetheless, smiling. “Shut up, pointy chin,” Keith chuckled, looking up at Lance finally. Lance rolled his eyes at the nickname and examined Keith’s attire. ‘Cute,’ he thought to himself. He felt a light blush dust his cheeks before shooing away the feeling and looking over at the lady. “You must be his mum,” Lance smiled, putting out a hand to shake hers, “I’m Lance, my friends call me Loverboy,” he said, shrugging as if it were nothing. </p><p>Krolia chuckled a bit, shaking his hand firmly. “Nice to meet you, Lance. I’m Krolia Kogane. I’m surprised Keith hasn’t mentioned anything about you yet,” she said, shooting a glance at her son and taking a mental note on the way he admired the tan male. “Nice to have you here, Krolia! Welcome to Altean. I’m on my lunch break right now, but here’s a little treat- on me! I told Keith to stop by today but I didn’t think he would,” Lance smiled, bringing an empty chair over to the small table and sitting on it. Keith blushed at that, “I promised you I would,” he huffed. </p><p>Lance rolled his eyes, smirking at Keith, “Awe, you’re getting mad,” he cooed teasingly, causing Krolia to laugh as she watched the other’s pale face turn a bright red. “Shut up,” Keith grumbled, looking away. Krolia let out a content sigh, “So what did you bring us, Mr. Lance?” the lady asked him, watching him open the paper bag just a bit before placing it in between her and her son. “Just two cookies. One is raspberry and the other is plain chocolate chip. I know Keith would be complaining if he didn’t get the raspberry one,” Lance snickered, only making Keith cover his face with a heavy sigh escaping his nose. </p><p>Krolia grabbed the bag and smiled, “Thank you, that’s very thoughtful of you,” she told him. Keith stood up from his chair and looked at the tan barista who was seated with them, “Lance, can we talk in private?” Keith asked him, starting to head to the door. Lance nodded quickly, looking over at Krolia and smiling sweetly, “Be right back, ma’am,” he told her before following Keith outside and to the side of the building. “What’s up, Keith? You look upset,” Lance pouted, putting a hand on his shoulder gently. Keith let out a huff, “Dude can you tone it down just a little bit? This is my mum, I don’t want you making it look like we’re,” Keith began to stutter,” like- like we’re dating!” he finally said, his face hot now. </p><p>Lance looked at him and could tell he was upset, “Jeez, dude. You know I just play like that right?”</p><p>Keith could feel his heart shatter on the spot. So all that flirting meant nothing to Lance. He looked up at the tan male and shook his head, “So you play like that with everybody?” Keith asked him, feeling his heart rate pick up again. “Pretty much,” Lance shrugged. Keith’s lips curled into a frown and he backed away from the other. “So all those times you flirted with me, all those times you complimented me, our date at the beach and at your house then mine- that all was just a joke, right?” Keith asked him again, his eyes glassy and his face a bright red. </p><p>Just like that, it all hit Lance like a truck. He looked down at him and shook his head, “No, Keith, that’s not what I mean, buddy,” Lance spoke softly, grabbing both of Keith’s shoulders gently again but was surprised as he felt the other pull away. “It was all a joke,” Keith said again, feeling his nose become fuzzy. “I need to go,” Keith said before shoving past Lance with his shoulder and heading inside the coffee shop for his mum. Lance followed after him, “Keith, come on.”</p><p>Keith grabbed the paper bag with the goodies and pushed in his seat, “Let’s go mum,” Keith mumbled to her. Krolia was confused, “Already?” she asked, “I was just getting comfortable,” she sighed as she stood up as well and pushed in her seat and followed her son out the door. Lance watched the two head out and frowned, feeling his heart break as well. Lance watched as the lady and the nicely dressed boy began to walk down the sidewalk, heading towards the beach and all he could think of was how stupid he was. It wasn’t a joke to him at all. In fact, all of that meant the world to him. Now, he was probably going to be ghosted again all thanks to him being such a numb skull. </p><p>Krolia caught up with her son who was walking in the direction of the beach, panting a bit, “Could you slow down just a bit? I’m an old lady now, I’m not as fast as I used to be,” Krolia laughed quietly. Keith slowed down just a bit, taking in a few deep breaths and still trying to ease the tears that wanted to escape his almond shaped eyes. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled to his mum, scratching the back of his neck gently.</p><p>The lady shrugged, placing a hand on his back for reassurance, “It’s fine, kiddo. Let’s go sit on the beach so you can tell me what happened, ok?” she said, Keith nodded, “Ok,” he mumbled as they both continued to walk towards the beach. </p><p>After 17 minutes or so, they finally made it to a more private area of the beach so they could talk alone. The sun was starting to set. Keith sat down and brought his knees up to his chest. Krolia sat down next to him and extended her legs out in front of her, letting her arms hold her up. “Today has been,” Krolia tried to gather the right words before letting out a sigh and smiling sweetly, “Eventful yet uneventful,” she laughed quietly, not really minding how they only stopped at a few places. She was pretty tired after all.</p><p>Keith was silent as he listened to his mum speak. She looked over at him and patted his back again, “Tell me what happened back there. It’s obviously bugging you, kiddo,” Krolia told him, frowning softly. </p><p>The pale boy let out a shaky sigh, “Mum, how do you feel about gay men?” he asked her quietly, hesitantly looking over at her and swallowing a lump in her throat.</p><p>Krolia let out a sigh, “Well, I support them to the fullest. If I didn’t I wouldn’t have let Shiro and Adam take care of you for this long. Hell, they were practically your dad’s at such a young age,” Krolia told him. “If you’re coming out to me as gay, just know that I completely accept you and will love you regardless of who you love,” she told him, smiling sweetly as she admired her son. “Just because you like boys doesn’t mean I’m going to see you any differently. You’re still the one and only Keith I’ve loved ever since I found out I was pregnant with you. I will love you for as long as I’m alive.”</p><p>Keith nodded, “Did you already know I was gay?”</p><p>“Maybe just a little,” she chuckled quietly, rubbing his back. “The way you looked at that barista gave it away. What was his name? Landon? Leonardo?” she wondered out loud.</p><p>Keith felt his heart drop into his stomach and he cleared his throat, “Lance,” he mumbled. Krolia nodded, “What happened between you two today?”</p><p>“He said he flirted with me as a joke. Like this all meant nothing to him. We got drunk together on the beach and then he cuddled me last week and now this all means nothing to him?” Keith huffed, feeling that fuzzy feeling in his nose again as his eyes became glassy again. “I spent the night at his house and he made me breakfast and everything. He always comes over to say hi to me instead of his friends now for fucks sake, mum. Lance flirted with me shamelessly, called me when I needed help, hugged me when I was sobbing, and now all of this means nothing to him because he just plays like that with everybody? It’s like he only did this to toy with my feelings even more. I hate saying it but I think I fell really hard. I haven’t fallen this hard since college, I’m scared of falling in love.”</p><p>Krolia wrapped an arm around Keith and pulled him closer. He didn’t move away this time. “I know it sucks right now,” she sighed, “But it’s going to get better. It may seem like there’s no hope right now, that this bond you both formed is completely gone- ruined, there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel, Keithers,” Krolia said. He hadn’t heard that nickname in years. It was oddly comforting listening to her specifically say it. “The way you looked at him told me everything. I’m sorry he’s being such a,” Krolia tried to gain the right words, “Excuse my language, but a prick. Playing with feelings is such a horrible thing to do, you didn’t deserve to fall victim to this guy’s games.”</p><p>Keith nodded, leaning into his mum’s embrace. They both stayed silent for a bit before Krolia let out a sigh and watched the sunset. “Keither’s, I know this is a longshot,” she started, now having her son’s full attention. “But what if you came to Korea with me? Just for a little bit,” Krolia suggested.</p><p>The pale boy swallowed a lump in his throat at the thought of living away from California- from Lance. Who was he kidding? Screw Lance. He played with his feelings. In the spur of the moment, Keith turned to look at his mum and nodded, “It doesn’t sound like such a bad idea,” he told her, finally smiling. He felt like he hadn’t smiled in a long time.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>more angst aaaa im sorry :,,) i wasnt even expecting it myself. hopefully next chapter is better.</p><p>comments keep me motivated ! lmk how this one hurt u too :,,)</p><p>send me feedback ! i love to hear from you <br/>insta:<br/>@pxniniiii (main/cosplay)<br/>@ieatsoupwithaspork (writing + art)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Untitled</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>a lil makeup scene ;)</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Untitled by Rex Orange County</p><p>HI DONT THINK IVE FORGOTTEN MATTS BDAY TRIP !!!!!!!!<br/>omg this chapter was so much fun to write ???? i rlly rlly hope u guys enjoy this. the wait is over &lt;3 now we just gotta see whats up w keith n his mum :0 </p><p>btw schools starting for me soon (aug. 24) so ill b super inactive n such so have this. tank q for sticking around this long w pluto !!! a few more chapters n this'll b over (i dont wanna finish dis T-T)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There's a saying that boys are heartbreakers. </p><p>And right now, Lance feels like he's the human embodiment of that saying. His heart aches, his head hurts. He just wishes he could bring himself to say sorry but every time he thinks about Keith and how he hurt him without even noticing, it makes his stomach churn. How could he have been so dense? </p><p>The sad truth was, he really loved Keith and thought he was making himself obvious enough, but apparently not. All thanks to one little response, their friendship seemed over again</p><p>And now, here Lance was, leaning against the railing of his balcony with his phone glowing in his hands. The small device was opened on his old conversation with Keith from a day ago. He couldn't think of anything to say. Did Keith even want to see his face ever again? His chest felt heavy, almost as if he was underwater. </p><p>His long fingers hovered over the keyboard. Lance still wasn't sure what he was going to send.</p><p>Lance let out a shaky sigh, not even noticing his fingers were moving as he typed out a small message.</p><p> </p><p>[From: theonceler]</p><p>hey man. can we talk about today? pls??</p><p> </p><p>Keith was laying in bed. Shiro and Adam headed out on a dinner date so he was out of the picture. A part of him felt so happy but the other part of him hurt. Yeah, he was so happy to have finally been reunited with his mum, it had been 15 years after all. The other part of him couldn't stop thinking about Lance today. </p><p> </p><p>'You know I just play like that'</p><p>'You know I just play like that'</p><p>'You know I just play like that'</p><p> </p><p>Lance's words continued to buzz in his head like a never-ending ringtone. </p><p> </p><p>'So you just play like that with everybody?'</p><p>'Pretty much'</p><p> </p><p>It all meant nothing to Lance and it was Keith's fault for taking it the wrong way. </p><p>All his fault. </p><p>Keith was getting mixed signals from this boy.</p><p> Lance plays like that with everybody. It hurt to think that all this flirting was meaningless. All of it meant nothing. That night he spent at Lance's, all the free snacks he was slipped, the movie nights, the beach talk, it all went down the drain. All these last months of progress, just gone. </p><p>Keith really felt pathetic about this.</p><p>Considering this is the most he had cried in one day since college. He cried about his mum, about his dad, and about a stupid boy who toys with feelings.</p><p>So now there he was, lying in bed with a splitting headache and a runny nose for the 50th time today. </p><p>He tried to convince himself it was just allergies, but every time he did his brain would just come back and smash his face with the truth. His brain was really good at doing that. </p><p>Keith heard his phone vibrate from somewhere around him. In the darkness of his room, he could see his phone light upon his nightstand. He could read the text message from where he was lying, feeling his heart drop to his stomach.</p><p>What was Lance going to say? Should he just ghost him again like when they first met or was that going to leave a bad impression again?</p><p>He hesitantly sat up, grabbing his head and feeling the room spin. Keith sat on the edge of his bed, the same bed they cuddled on...</p><p>No Keith. Stop thinking about that.</p><p>Keith grabbed his phone and continued to stare at the message. Was he going to get an apology? Was he going to be yelled at? Was he going to be rejected? All the worst possible outcomes began to flood his overwhelmed little mind. He hesitantly opened his phone and stared at the message and the others before it.</p><p>He ignored the newest one and read all the times Lance had called him gorgeous.</p><p>Keith could feel his heart shatter.</p><p>All the times he sent him a stupid pick up line.</p><p>Keith felt his heart fall into the pit of his stomach now, the heaviness returning to his chest. </p><p>All these small little gestures that used to make Keith's heart flutter like a little kid at Disneyland made his heart hurt now. Before Keith could even comprehend any of this, he didn't notice until one fell onto the back of his hand, he had been crying. His cheeks were hot and the tears streaming down his face made a pretty shitty attempt at controlling the redness. </p><p>As if this wasn't enough to hurt him, his phone buzzed in his hand and Keith threw it to the floor, a bit startled. </p><p> </p><p>[theonceler is calling...] </p><p> </p><p>Keith quickly scrambled to grab his phone and felt it vibrate in his hand as Lance still called. Keith's hands felt numb, too numb. He didn't notice that his finger had pressed the 'Decline' button until after the buzzing had stopped. </p><p>'Holy shit, I just hang up on him' Keith thought, immediately feeling 10x his weight being placed on him now. </p><p>Jesus, what was Lance going to think of him now? </p><p>He laid back down in bed, his phone still in his hand as he awaited another message or call from Lance. And of course, he felt his phone buzz one last time and it was none other than a voicemail from Lance himself. Keith brought the phone up to his face. He could feel his heartbeat throbbing in his throat now. </p><p>Keith opened the voicemail, just now realizing that he never listened to voicemails since he could see others that were unopened. That's a bad habit he should start working on.</p><p>He let his finger linger over the unopened voicemail from Lance. It took him a bit of courage but Keith finally opened it, listening carefully. He listened to Lance exhale before he started speaking.</p><p>"Hey, Keith,"</p><p>Not Mullet, not Gorgeous, not Keithers, not any of the nicknames he had earned.</p><p>Just his name.</p><p>"I uhm, I hope it's not too late. There are some things that I really wanna say," it sounded muffled as if he were hiding his face. "I'm so sorry about earlier. I just wanna talk about it but I know your mum's in town and you just want to spend time with her, uhm"</p><p>"Of course, I know you took what I said earlier in the wrong way, that's not- fuck, that's not what I meant."</p><p>A long pause</p><p>"I wanna talk about this person, Keith. You deserve an explanation, not a shitty voicemail that you probably don't even want to hear," he chuckled, it sounded sad- almost forced, "So uhm, I'm stopping by in a few minutes so we can talk about this and- I dunno, maybe go out to the beach?"</p><p>"O-Only if you wanna! I know you're probably mad at me," Lance mumbled the last part and then went silent again.</p><p>Lance let out another sigh, "Just-" another pause and then one last sigh, "I'll be there in 30."</p><p>Keith listened to the voicemail finally come to an end and now he didn't even know how to feel. </p><p>Was he feeling terrified?  Most likely. </p><p>Keith slowly sat on the edge of his bed again, really not sure what to do anymore. He probably shouldn't let Lance in since it would be dumb to let him see that he had been crying. </p><p>He wasn't even sure if he wanted to see Lance. Of course, he wanted to see him but that voice in the back of his head kept telling Keith to not let him get to his head.</p><p>The pale boy was tired of crying about the other. He was sick of always having to hold back the urge to cup his face and kiss his freckles.</p><p>Keith wanted to give him all the love that he had bottled up, but what was the point now?</p><p>Lance probably didn't feel the same way.</p><p> </p><p>X</p><p> </p><p>Pulling into the empty driveway of the dark house didn't feel right. Sure, Lance had been there once before but he didn't drive there, let alone go there when Keith was home alone. </p><p>Lance looked up at the house, feeling a knot twist in his stomach. It was telling him to leave. It told him Keith was upset, Keith didn't want anything to do with him. He ignored it. Lance removed his keys and took a deep breath before getting out of his car.</p><p>He pocketed his keys and walked up to the door. It was dark from what he could see inside. Lance brought his hand up to the doorbell and gently pressed the button, moving back a bit as he listened to the bell echo inside. </p><p>Maybe nobody was there.</p><p>Lance could hear shuffling on the other side of the door. He stood still. He was practically frozen. </p><p>He listened and could hear a sigh before a low voice grumbled on the other side.</p><p>"What do you want, Lance."</p><p>It as Keith.</p><p>His voice sounded raw, hoarse. Almost like he hadn't used it in weeks.</p><p>Guilt began to bubble in his chest.</p><p>Lance cleared his throat after finally realizing he was talked to, "Did you get my voicemail?" he asked softly.</p><p>"I don't want you here"</p><p>He nodded a bit sadly, "I know. I just wanna talk to you."</p><p>"Did you not hear me?"</p><p>"Crystal clear"</p><p>"So why are you still here?" Keith grumbled</p><p>Lance swallowed, "Because I want to talk to you"</p><p>"I have to go to sleep. I'm busy tomorrow"</p><p>"I know, that's why I want to talk"</p><p>Keith let out a sigh, audibly irritated.</p><p>"Please?"</p><p>Now Keith felt bad. </p><p>"I'm not opening the door for you. Just talk to me like this"</p><p>Lance nodded. He leaned his back against the door and sat down on the porch with a sigh. "So uhm, how you been, Keithers?"</p><p>Keith snorted, "That's a shitty question to ask"</p><p>There was silence.</p><p>Lance let out a sigh, "Keith, I'm-" he paused, "I didn't mean what I said earlier," he sounded upset.</p><p>Keith leaned onto the door with his side, sitting down as well. He rested his head against the door. "I saw how it hurt you and-" Lance sounded muffled on Keith's side of the door, he let out a sigh, "I didn't want to hurt you. If you could just let me explain myself, that would mean a whole lot to me."</p><p>Silence rang in Keith's ears before Lance spoke again.</p><p>Lance swallowed, "Can I explain myself?"</p><p>Keith nodded, immediately feeling dumb and then speaking, "Yeah." His voice sounded broken, raspy, hoarse, almost as if he hadn't used it in forever.</p><p>"Well then," Lance started quietly, "Can I come in?"</p><p>Keith stayed silent, feeling the familiar lump form in his throat.</p><p>More silence fell over them.</p><p>Lance still waited for a response, just feeling horrible. He spoke again, "I'll take that as a no."</p><p>Just let him in, Keith. He's not going to hurt you.</p><p>Keith slowly stood up, unlocking the door and opening it just a crack. Lance sat up when he heard the door click, stumbling to his feet so he could see Keith. The boy looked through the door and there he was in the pitch-black house, his eyes and shaggy hair in his face visible with the moonlight outside. Lance's hand was itching to reach out and move it out of his eyes to get a better look at him. He felt frozen in place. Keith didn't open the door any further. </p><p>Lance admired Keith, taking a mental note of how puffy and red his eyes were. His heart dropped into his stomach. He finally took in a shaky breath, trying to look away but not being able to. "Hey Keith," Lance mumbled sheepishly.</p><p>The pale boy opened the door now, revealing himself in the same button-up from earlier. It was untucked and unbuttoned to reveal the white tank top that was underneath it. It was all wrinkly. Lance wasn't sure how long he had been staring, but Keith shot him an uncomfortable glare that Lance was able to notice. He looked away now. Keith reached over to the side and turned on a light.</p><p>Jeez, Keith looked like a mess.</p><p>"Are you gonna come in or what?" he asked quietly, his voice still holding the same raspiness. </p><p>Lance nodded, slowly taking a step inside. Keith was already walking towards the living room. Lance closed the door and followed Keith over there who was pacing the living room. "Alright," Keith said, "What do you want?" his voice sounded a bit harsher now.</p><p>The tan boy walked towards him, standing 4 feet from him. "I came here to apologize and explain, man." His voice was calm.</p><p>Keith's eyebrows furrowed together, his lips curled into a soft frown. "Explain what, Lance. You already told me enough today, I don't need to hear another thing you do to everybody like play with their feelings," Keith growled at him. </p><p>He was upset.</p><p>REALLY upset.</p><p>Lance looked down at his feet, he did kinda deserve this. Keith continued, "You think I'm about to tell you that 'I love you'," he paused, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, "But I really fucking don't," Keith's voice broke.</p><p>The tan boy felt as if his chest had been impaled. </p><p>Keith went on, rambling now, "All these months of obsession and crying for hours, Lance," he was breaking down, "Shit, I even started sitting down in the showers."</p><p>Another stab to the heart.</p><p>"I wanted you to like me back so bad," Keith was crying already. Lance fought the urge to dry his tears. "It's really not clear what I need yet," he stuttered, "But it's so fucking clear that it's not you."</p><p>Lance's walls were crumbling.</p><p>"I fell so fucking hard, Lance. And I know you would never like me back, why the fuck did I think I would ever have a chance?"</p><p>"I hate your fucking guts," Keith wasn't done, "Is this how you have fun? By building people up, gaining their complete trust and love only to leave them in the fucking dirt? Is this what you do for a living? Is this what your mum raised you to be/" Keith was yelling. </p><p>"If you wanna call me gorgeous and then go and flirt with some bitch with the same things you say to me, do it!"</p><p>Lance felt as if all his air had been knocked out of his lungs. It was hard to breathe. Before Lance even had time to process all that he was being yelled, he was already being thrown things. A pillow, "You never fucking liked me back, why are you still trying so hard to keep me in your life?" Shiro's glasses, "The more I stay around the harder I'm going to fall!" the TV remote, "Just get out of my fucking life, Lance!" another pillow.</p><p>Lance put his arms up to push away what was being thrown at him, staying silent the whole time. Keith ran out of things to throw and now there they were. Keith was sobbing, his chest was heaving, Lance was on the verge of tears. He stood up straight and gave Keith a hurt look.</p><p>"Keith, I liked you! I still do! Jesus, if your tiny body wasn't filled up with just pure rage, you'd be a decent person to love!" Lance yelled at him.</p><p>Keith looked at him with wide eyes, the tears still falling down his face.</p><p>"That's the whole reason I walked over to you that one day on my break, the whole reason I listened to you ramble about a band you went to see when you were in the 9th grade, the whole reason I gave you free snacks from the shop, the whole reason I didn't forget about your tragic ass backstory!"</p><p>Keith looked down at the floor, still trying to catch his breath from all the yelling. Jesus, how dumb was he?</p><p>Lance was still going on, "I thought I made it obvious enough that I liked you, but I guess not," he gave Keith a distraught look. "You're too busy with your repressed emotions to even notice the fact that other people care about you."</p><p>He was right. Completely right.</p><p>"How did I fail, Keith?" his voice trembled when he spoke. Keith looked up at him confused.</p><p>"How did I fail to give you all the love you deserved?"</p><p>Keith wanted to hug this boy and tell him it wasn't his fault, but his own. He wanted to cry into his shoulder and hold him close. He wanted to...</p><p>Before he knew it, he was walking closer to Lance. He didn't even feel himself walking. In fact, he was practically floating. Keith could feel his heartbeat in his throat when he finally felt the warmth of the other against him. </p><p>His arms were tight around the other's skinny body.  Lance wasn't hugging him back. Keith deserved that. He hid his face into the other's shoulder, practically holding onto him for dear life like that night on the beach. Keith could feel the other relax finally, wrapping him in an equally tight embrace. Keith cried quietly again, feeling the soft area of Lance's shirt began to feel damp with his tears. This was humiliating.</p><p>Lance's face was buried into Keith's shoulder as well, hugging him tight and still fighting back tears. He slid his hand up and down Keith's back in a slow, soothing manner, almost as if he was trying to calm him down. Lance wasn't sure how to feel. His chest felt warm and fuzzy, his head was spinning and his breath was shaky. This all felt too nice. </p><p>So now, there they both were.</p><p>Hugging in Keith's living room.</p><p>In complete silence.</p><p>Did they make up? Were they gonna start dating? Keith's brain began to ask himself all these questions but he simply shooed them off. </p><p>Being in Lance's arms was all that mattered right now.</p><p>They both stayed silent for a bit.</p><p>Keith cleared his throat a bit, his quiet voice speaking, "There's something I should probably tell you," he murmured, his voice was raw. Keith pulled away to see Lance.</p><p>Lance hesitantly pulled back, letting go of Keith and admiring his bloodshot eyes. Even like this, Keith still looked gorgeous.</p><p>They both stared at each other.</p><p>Keith looked down at the ground, "My mum wants me to go to Korea with her," he whispered.</p><p>Lance understood him completely though. His eyes widened and his nose felt fuzzy. </p><p>"When?" his voice sounded equally as hoarse.</p><p>"I haven't talked to her about it," he shook his head, "But I want to go for a month or so. I want to be with her and away from California for a little bit."</p><p>Lance could feel his heart in the pit of his stomach. He swallowed the lump in his throat. It was his fault, wasn't it?</p><p>"Is it because of today?"</p><p>Keith looked up at him, slowly shaking his head. "It's not because of you or what happened," he murmured. "I just need some time away from everybody."</p><p>Lance stepped closer to Keith, leaving only a few inches of space in between them. Keith looked up at him and frowned, reaching up to wipe a tear that had slowly fallen from the other's gorgeous blue eyes. Shit, had he been crying? He didn't even notice. Lance instinctively leaned his cheek against Keith's hand, looking down at the ground. </p><p>"I respect your decision," he started, "But just know that we're all going to miss you," Lance's voice broke, he looked back up at Keith with a weak smile. He blinked and let a few tears fall down his face.</p><p>God, Keith felt so much worse. He couldn't leave this stupid beanpole even if he wanted to. He slowly brought his face closer to Lance's, frowning, "I'm so sorry," he murmured, "for everything."</p><p>Lance shook his head, "Keith, it's not your fault," he said, almost whispering the words. </p><p>They were both silent. Despite their situation, it was a comforting silence.</p><p>"You're just gonna miss out on Matt's birthday road trip," he sniffed, laughing. Keith would kill to just listen to his laugh on repeat. Keith found himself laughing too, sniffling in between laughs.</p><p>"Holy shit I forgot about that," Keith giggled.</p><p>Lance nodded, "Me too," he continued to laugh, "Pidge won't stop talking about it." </p><p>Keith slowly let his hand fall from Lance's face, making him just want to chase after it and feel his soft palm up against him tan skin one last time. Lance took a step back and looked down at the carpet. "I should probably get going," he murmured. "I only came here to apologize," Lance chuckled.</p><p>He wanted him to stay. Keith wanted to grab his face and kiss those stupid freckles all over his face. He nodded, feeling that fluttering sensation in his stomach. He looked at Lance and swallowed, "Thank you," Keith murmured.</p><p>Lance smiled, admiring Keith again, "No problem," he said. </p><p>The tan boy started heading towards the door and Keith followed. </p><p>Lance stood on the porch and Keith stood inside, leaning against the doorframe. "I'll see you soon?"</p><p>Keith nodded, "I'll visit you at work once my mum goes back."</p><p>"Got it," Lance smiled. He started to walk down the stairs but stopped himself. He couldn't just leave now. Lance found out everything that had blossomed in the last few months between them. There was a vile taste in his throat just thinking about going to his car. Lance started walking back to Keith. He was confused at Lance's sudden approach. He watched as Lance stepped closer, "What do you want n-" Keith's words were cut off by a sweet feeling against his lips. The space between them was no longer there. Keith breathed in the other's scent, he reeked of vanilla. His lips tasted like cake. </p><p>Maybe he could get used to this.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>&lt;3<br/>sorry for making dis one a bit shorter btw eeee</p><p>ps. i used the lyrics of 2 roc songs ;))</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Belly (The Grass Stains)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>one last goodbye</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Belly (The Grass Stains) by Rex Orange County</p><p>ohhhjdnjfsjbnehj AAAAAA im sorry for not having updated sooner, schools a pain in the buttholee :,)) I'm sorry abt this chapter not getting anywhere, next chapters gonna cover a lot more thingzz. this chapters finally living up to the story name so here goes nothing :D</p><p>ALSO IM GETTING MY REX HOODIE SOON AAAA ILL POST PICS ON INSTA</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been a week since Krolia left.</p><p>On one of her final days, she sat down with Shiro and Keith and explained their gameplan. They all decided on Keith leaving somewhere in mid-May. He was going to miss out on Matt's birthday trip like Lance had told him, but it might have been best if he didn't go.</p><p>Speaking of Lance...</p><p>They hadn't spoken in what felt like forever.</p><p>Of course, Keith still checked in on Lance and went to visit the café regularly, but it felt almost as if he were being avoided.</p><p>After what happened last week, that night...</p><p>Keith wanted to talk about it, he really did. He wanted to understand why Lance did that, or why he kissed the stupid barista back. Keith wanted answers but every time he brought it up, Lance would only change the subject almost as if he was uncomfortable with the idea of having ever kissed Keith. The thought made his stomach churn. Ok, so what if Lance regretted kissing him? It's not like he was going to stay any longer.</p><p>See, there was another problem.</p><p>He hadn't told Lance when he leaves yet.</p><p>Keith never gave him the time frame in which he might leave and he felt a bit guilty. He wanted to let Lance know he wasn't staying for long, considering that April was over. They were already a week into May.</p><p>Krolia had been set on May 10th.</p><p>Today was the 8th.</p><p>Ok, yeah he really needed to tell Lance.</p><p>Two days, he could do it. Totally.</p><p>Keith felt nauseous now. The thought of leaving Lance made his head spin. His stomach flipped in an uncomfortable way.</p><p>There Keith was, sitting at his window and stargazing through his telescope. His phone was by his side. He did this a lot to get his mind off of things. The boy was anxious. He didn't know how to approach the topic with Lance, considering he was so carefree compared to Keith. He finally caved, pulling back from the telescope and grabbing his phone. No new notifications. He wishes he could say he's surprised, but obviously he's not. Keith went to his text messages with Lance and let out a shaky sigh, still contemplating even telling him. Would it make any difference at all if he just disappeared?</p><p> </p><p>[New Message From: Mothman]</p><p>Hey Lance, can we talk ?</p><p> </p><p>Lance was visiting his aunt and uncle in Anaheim, a little under a 30-minute drive. They had taken care of him when he was kicked out of the house at only 15...</p><p>He was sitting at the table with them, speaking a mix of English with a few Spanish words thrown in there. They were drinking some beers that were in the back of his uncle's wimpy fridge, laughing and catching up with each other. Lance lived with them for a while after leaving Arizona.</p><p>The tan boy felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket, taking it out and looking at the notification.</p><p>Shit, it was Keith.</p><p>And he wanted to talk? Double yikes.</p><p>He must have given a shocked expression or something when he saw the message because the two people around him took notice. "Ay mijo, guarda tu teléfono. Estás enviando mensajes a tu novia?" his aunt Larissa teased. Lance looked up from his phone, "What? Tia, no! It's just a friend who texted me," he pouted.</p><p>"You're lying," his uncle Sebastian laughed, "Your face is red."</p><p>Now that it was pointed out to him, Lance could feel the heat in his cheeks. Curse his uncle and his father-like instincts.</p><p>"I don't have a girlfriend," Lance whined.</p><p>Larissa just rolled her eyes, a smug smile gracing her lips, "Then who is it?"</p><p>"My friend. His name is Keith."</p><p>She gasped dramatically, "Mijo, I didn't know you were still into boys!" she teased.</p><p>Lance panicked, "I'm not into boys anymore, they're gross. I'm straight, Tia," his palms were clammy now as he stood from the table, "I need to go make a phone call, I'll be back."</p><p>"Don't take long, I'm gonna need help with the ceviche," Larissa called out to him as he was already making his way out the front door.</p><p>Lance closed the door behind him as he stood on the front porch, pulling out his phone and staring at the unopened text message again. What did this guy want? Was it not obvious that he didn't want to talk about what happened that one night? Everytime he thought about the kiss, he just feel deeper. It wasn't comedic anymore, it was serious. He hadn't been sleeping well either ever since Keith told him he was leaving...</p><p>The tan boy finally opened his phone, dialing Keith's number and bringing his phone to his ear.</p><p>The line was ringing.</p><p>And ringing.</p><p>And ringing.</p><p>It wasn't until the last ring that Keith finally picked up, his low gruff voice on the other end spoke, "Hello?"</p><p>Lance's breath hitched but he smiled at the sound of his voice, "Hey mullet," he chuckled softly, "What's up?"</p><p>Keith was shaking, why was he shaking? There was a long pause which was interrupted by Lance, "Helloooo? You there?"</p><p>"Yeah, sorry," Keith said quickly.</p><p>"Had me scared that you died," Lance laughed, "Stop day-dreaming about me and tell me what's up."</p><p>Keith felt his stomach churn, "I'm not daydreaming about you, asswipe."</p><p>"Sure you aren't," Lance teased, "C'mon, what do you need, dork?"</p><p>He froze again, almost as if his mouth didn't want to say it. Keith finally let out a shaky sigh, "I leave in two days," he tried his hardest not to let his voice break but it did anyway.</p><p>Lance's heart dropped, his smile fell and his brows furrowed together, "What?" his voice was quiet now.</p><p>"Yeah," Keith murmured, looking down at his lap.</p><p>"When did you find out? Wha- how long have you known?" Lance was stammering and tripping over his words.</p><p>Keith shrugged, "A few days or so."</p><p>Lance laughed, obviously sad, "Why didn't you tell me?"</p><p>"I dunno."</p><p>"There's gotta be a reason."</p><p>"I just- I didn't want you to freak out."</p><p>They were both silent, Lance looked out at the road in front of his aunt's suburban neighborhood and Keith looked back up at the moon. He examined the stars and constellations, remembering how Lance's freckles were similar to them. God, he wanted to throw up. He cleared his throat and let out another sigh, "I should go, I just wanted to let you know."</p><p>"Keith-"</p><p>Before Lance could even speak, Keith hung up. Lance looked down at his phone, a hurt expression on his face. I guess him and Keith were in the same boat. Why was he so hurt anyway? Sure, he was really pretty and super dumb and just a load of fun to be around and...</p><p>God, who was he kidding? He was head over heels in love with him. Why was it so hard for him to even talk to him about last week?</p><p>HE kissed him for christ's sake, none of this was Keith's fault.</p><p>Lance wasn't sure what he was doing, but he was calling Keith back.</p><p>His fingers felt numb every time they pressed on his screen. Lance brought his phone up to his ear and listened to the line ring not even once before he was taken to voicemail.</p><p>"Hey, this is Keith. Leave a message and I'll see if I can get back to you."</p><p>Lance had left him voicemails before, why did this feel like a life or death situation?</p><p>He cleared his throat, having not heard the beep after his message, "Hey uh, if you aren't busy tomorrow could I take you somewhere? As like uh... a going-away date? I dunno if that's what I would call it but uh, just shoot me a text, man. I wanna make these last few days the best for you," Lance could feel the fuzzy feeling in his nose as he spoke, ending the voice message and putting down his phone.</p><p>A date with Keith, nothing too bad. He could do it, totally.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>XXX</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Mesa, Arizona<br/>February 24th, 2012</p><p> </p><p>Lance was drunk out of his mind.</p><p>Being a freshman in highschool was a lot more fun than he had expected. Lance was a loverboy and still is. All the girls wanted him, all the boys wanted to be him- even the seniors! This little gift from Aphrodite herself was what got him to go to a buttload of parties. All these parties ranged from wimpy Halloween celebrations to the biggest scandals in one night.</p><p>If it weren't for Lance's incredibly good looks, he probably wouldn't have begun experimenting with his sexuality either.</p><p>He practically stumbled home, a beer in hand. Lance was walking alone at ungodly hours of the morning so it was pretty dangerous.</p><p>The tan boy finally arrived, drunkenly padding through his front door where his mum was up waiting for him. She was furious, upset. The small lady was in her pajamas, a long nightgown to be specific. She had a slipper in one of her hands. Lance didn't know better so instead, he just fell towards her, hugging her, "Mmm, amá..." he grinned, "I kissed a boy tonight," Lance laughed.</p><p>She gasped quietly and let go of Lance. He fell to the floor with a whine, "Mooom," he cried, "Be happy for me or something. I've kissed so many boys and girls but this dude, he was just...wow," Lance kept laughing, a few occasional hiccups escaped him in between giggles.</p><p>Lance looked up to where she was standing but she was no longer there.</p><p>Instead, she was replaced by a tall, heavy-built man.</p><p>Not surprisingly, it was his dad.</p><p>Mr. Roberto McClain.</p><p>The rest of that night was a blur to him.</p><p>Lance woke up the next morning, tired out of his mind. He quickly turned to look at his clock and noticed it was around 12pm already. Shit, it was a Thursday. It wouldn't hurt to stay home from school one day, right?</p><p>The boy walked down the stairs, not hearing the familiar voices of his siblings or his parents. He couldn't smell anything cooking which was odd...</p><p>He reached the kitchen, scoping it out and finding nothing. No food, no family, no nothing.</p><p>Nobody was home.</p><p>The only thing that was there was a note. A note from on the counter from his dad which, unfortunately, read:</p><p> </p><p>"Pack your things. I'm expecting you to be gone once I'm home."</p><p> </p><p>Lance panicked. Holy shit, where was he gonna go? His car was out of gas, he barely had money, was he going to have to drop out of school and move to New York? He re-read the note over a billion times, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes more and more each time he read it.</p><p>So this was the end, huh?</p><p>He did kinda deserve this.</p><p>Lance rushed back upstairs, quickly gathering whatever he had. His iPod, his money, his clothes, shoes, whatever. He stuffed everything into a backpack, trying his hardest to pack up quickly before anybody was home at all. Lance scrambled around his room, gathering the last of his things before he finally headed downstairs and searched for his car keys.</p><p>As he looked for them, their family dog, Chico, came up to him and sat next to where his feet were planted. Chico lightly nudged Lance's shin with his head, grinning and panting. Lance turned his gaze down to his dog, gazing at him and feeling his heart ache. Chico did this a lot when he knew somebody was about to leave the house. Lance's heart shattered and he leaned down to pat his head, almost as if reassuring him that he wasn't leaving.</p><p>Obviously, that wasn't the case.</p><p>Once Lance turned back to the keydish, he saw his. He hesitantly grabbed it and looked back down at their dog, shooting him a soft smile before walking off. Chico followed him until he stepped foot out the door, sitting down and watching him leave. Lance shot him another soft smile and closed the door, rushing to open his car trunk and leave his backpack. He went running to the nearest gas station for a tank of gas, went back home, filled up his tank and was on his way.</p><p>Lance wasn't really sure on where to run. He had relatives everywhere, why was this so hard? He had relatives in Nevada, in Utah, in Oregon, in California.</p><p>California.</p><p>That's where LA is right?</p><p>Where dreams are made, where Disneyland is, where celebrities are.</p><p>In all honesty, California sounds so much better than the bumfuck middle of nowhere Arizona.</p><p>That's a lie, Mesa isn't in the middle of nowhere. Stop over-exaggerating, Lance.</p><p>However, California it was.</p><p>A 6 hour drive to get there, but it wasn't impossible.</p><p>At Least he would finally be free from his family.</p><p>No, stop thinking about that. You love your family. They're the world to you. Why are you suddenly like this? Who cares if they kicked you out, you still love them. And they still love you...</p><p>Right?</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>XXX</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>"Ok, ok. Don't take off your blindfold."</p><p>Keith huffed, "Lance I know where we are," he frowned as he listened to the waves crashing in the distance.</p><p>When he said a date, he expected something like a hilltop picnic, not a day at the beach.</p><p>Of course, he wasn't complaining. Anything to spend time with Lance.</p><p>"Did I ask, though?" Lance smirked.</p><p>"You're so funny," Keith deadpanned.</p><p>Keith could hear the trunk of Lance's car close behind him. Soon enough, he felt Lance grab one of his hands and lead him forward. "Did you bring swimtrunks?"</p><p>"You didn't tell me to."</p><p>Lance chuckled sheepishly, "Right. Not to worry, I brought you an extra pair."</p><p>"Lance, I don't really swim. It's not my thing." Keith said, bringing his free hand up to take off his blindfold.</p><p>The tan boy frowned, "C'monn it's your last day," he pouted, "Can we just have fun? You don't have to swim, I'll carry you into the ocean so the algae doesn't touch you."</p><p>Keith rolled his eyes but he couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips, "You're ridiculous."</p><p>They reached a fairly open spot. Lance set down the backpack he had brought and pulled out a towel to set on the sand. The sun was about to set so the sand had cooled down a lot. Lance stripped off his shirt and Keith tried his best not to look- he really did! He threw it onto the towel and looked over at Keith who totally wasn't looking, that would be so stupid. He smirked, "Like what you see?" Lance joked, flexing his non-existent biceps on his skinny arms.</p><p>Keith's face flushed a bright red, "You're a creep."</p><p>He couldn't help but spot a small mark on his stomach. It was an lighter off-colored brown, not too noticeable but then again, Keith noticed every single little thing about this stupid boy.</p><p>Like how his hair was naturally wavy and how when he towel dried it, his curls really showed...</p><p>Keith really paid attention to their Facetime calls, ok?</p><p>Keith was hesitant to take off his shirt since he had nothing to show, but that didn't stop Lance from staring as well.</p><p>"Jesus, you look like a scrawny vampire," Lance stifled a laugh.</p><p>Keith furrowed his brows, "Thanks. Your arms look like cigarettes, dumbass."</p><p>Lance rolled his eyes and kicked off his sandals, "Ok, last one to the shoreline has to buy the winner an ice cream," Lanc smirked, starting to run ahead.</p><p>"Wh- hey! I hate you!" Keith chased after him, grinning like an idiot and catching up pretty quick.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>XXX</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The sun had already set, the beach was a lot more empty and the waves were crashing harder. Lance and Keith sat next to each other on the towel, eating their ice creams and stargazing.</p><p>Keith pointed up to a small speck in the sky that was planted next to the moon, "That's Jupiter," he murmured absently.</p><p>He pointed to another, "That's Mercury. I don't think we can see Mars tonight."</p><p>Lance nodded slowly, looking at the speck he had pointed to that Keith told him was Mercury. "You really know your planets, nerd," he teased. Keith rolled his eyes, "It's what we studied in college."</p><p>"Just so you could end up working at an animal shelter?" Lance teased, Keith frowned, "At Least I didn't end up being a barista at a small café that can barely pay its energy bills every month," Keith joked, shooting the other a smug grin.</p><p>Lance gasped dramatically, "I'll have you know we're a tourist hotspot," he tried to be mad but he could only smile with Keith, eventually breaking into a dumb laugh. Keith joined in. What a shame that he had to leave tomorrow. Once they both calmed down, Keith leaned against Lance's side and sighed. Lance froze a bit but he wrapped an arm around Keith and held him closer. They both listened to the waves crashing and the wind blowing lightly through their hair, finally feeling at peace. Their bodies were cold from having dried off not long ago.</p><p>Keith closed his eyes and sighed, leaning his head onto Lance's shoulder. He could smell his stupidly intoxicating vanilla body spray.</p><p>Almost as if it had been bothering the back of his mind, Keith spoke, "Is that a scar on your stomach?" his voice was soft and he opened his eyes to gaze up at him.</p><p>Lance snorted, "So you WERE staring," he teased.</p><p>"Lance," Keith grumbled.</p><p>He cleared his throat, "Sorry," Lance smiled sheepishly. "I dunno, it was just an accident when I was 8. It's not a big deal," he laughed softly.</p><p>Keith nodded, not wanting to have him talk about the subject if he was uncomfortable with it. "Scars suit you," he joked. Lance blushed at that. It probably wasn't supposed to be a compliment or anything, but it made him feel giddy inside.</p><p>"Thanks, Mullet."</p><p>Keith turned back to look at the stars before letting out a sigh, "Pluto's my favorite planet," he mumbled. "Shame we can't see it without a telescope."</p><p>Lance thought of an idea, turning to look at Keith, "Let's head to your place, then."</p><p>He looked up at him, "Sure," Keith answered in a heartbeat. Lance was surprised by his quick response but he didn't seem against it at all.</p><p>The two boys finished their ice cream and began to pack up. Keith helped Lance put the backpack in the trunk and they were on their to Keith's. Lance put his stupidly obnoxious music in the car, only a few that grabbed his interest. Keith's heart fluttered at Lance's singing, it wasn't the best but something about it made him weak. Every time there was a line that implied love or a future together, Lance would dramatically point at him and sing it out loud. He was so stupid but that's what made him fall harder.</p><p>Once they arrived, Keith dragged Lance upstairs, sending Adam and Shiro a quick "Hi" "Bye" as they passed them in the living room. Keith held Lance's hand as he pulled him along, closing the door behind them and letting go of him finally. "Time to look for Pluto," Keith seemed a lot more giddy, a lot more childish and excited.</p><p>Lance liked that. It suited him.</p><p>They both made their way over to the telescope, Keith planted himself on his swivel chair and Lance stood next to him. He always had the telescope planted on Pluto's coordinates. Keith looked through the telescope and moved it a bit to look for the small planet, unable to find it. "Shit," he huffed, pulling away from it and crossing his arms. "It's not out tonight."</p><p>He was like an angry little kid and that made Lance grin, "Maybe another night, Mullet."</p><p>Keith's features softened at that.</p><p> </p><p>There won't be another night.</p><p> </p><p>Lance realized what he had said wrong, feeling the guilt bubble in his chest. "I'm sorry, Keith" he murmured, looking down at the wooden floorboards beneath his feet.</p><p>Keith shook his head, "It's not your fault. We'll have another night soon."</p><p>"Yeah," Lance nodded softly, looking at Keith now and realizing how close their faces were. He was hunched over a bit since he was waiting for his turn to look through the telescope but now here they were.</p><p>Keith gazed into his eyes. Those ocean blue eyes. He could get lost in them. Keith could feel the adrenaline building up in his veins with their closeness.</p><p>Before he knew it, he was leaning forward.</p><p>Closing the space in between them was a soft kiss, almost as if they were scared to do this again. Keith melted against Lance's soft lips, humming quietly. Lance kissed him back, bringing his hands over to cup his face gently and run his fingers through his sea-salt glazed hair. It was a bit matted, but they were just swimming so he had an excuse.</p><p>Lance deepened the kiss, letting out a heavy sigh from his nose.</p><p>Before it could get out of hand, Keith pulled away, gazing fondly at Lance with lidded eyes.</p><p>"Your flight leaves at 3am," Lance whispered to him, looking down at Keith's slightly chapped lips.</p><p>Keith nodded slowly, leaning into the hands holding his face, "Right."</p><p>"Can you drive me to the airport tomorrow?"</p><p>Lance nodded, "Of course."</p><p>"Stay the night," Keith murmured absently before his words turned into a yawn.</p><p>"I have work tomorrow," Lance chuckled softly, "You're super tired anyway. You need to sleep."</p><p>"Just this last time?" he asked softly, looking up at Lance with glassy eyes. This was going to be their last time hanging out for a while. Lance gazed into his hurt expression and could feel himself get teary as well. Keith was leaving tomorrow, that was the cruel reality of it. He could just call in sick tomorrow, it was fine. Lance gave in, "Fine, but promise you'll go to sleep right now."</p><p>Keith nodded, "Promise," he said as he squirmed out of Lance's hands that held his face. Lance let go of him and watched him climb to bed. Lance held in a laugh, "Aren't you gonna change? You swam in those trunks," he finally chuckled, sitting on the edge of Keith's bed and turning back to him. Keith shrugged, "Doesn't matter. You can borrow some of my gym shorts if you wanna though," he murmured, curling up to keep himself warm. </p><p>Lance nodded, "Which drawer?" </p><p>"Top right, in the dresser next to my telescope," his words were slurred. </p><p>Lance stood up from his bed and went over to the dresser, opening the top right drawer as instructed and searching for shorts. As he looked, he discovered a picture frame. Lance pulled it out and examined it. It was of a baby, Keith's mum and some dude that was similar to Keith- except he didn't have the stupidly obnoxious mullet. Lance quickly came to the conclusion that the baby in that photo was Keith. A pale baby with jet black hair and small eyes. He was wrapped in a purple blanket and he was facing the camera. Lance smiled softly at it, putting it away quickly and grabbing the shorts like he intended too. Keith’s going to live with his family, he should be happy. </p><p>Keith’s going to be happy.</p><p>Lance made sure Keith was asleep and changed quickly, slipping on the shorts he was borrowing and sitting back on the edge of the bed. Lance laid down and faced Keith who was dead asleep. Poor thing.</p><p>He slowly wrapped his arms around his waist and held him close, watching Keith shift in his sleep before he nuzzled closer to Lance. </p><p>He could feel that fuzzy feeling again. Lance rubbed his back softly and closed his eyes, letting out a shaky breath and sniffling quietly. This was going to be his last night with Keith, huh? Cuddling in his small room that was soon-to-be up for rent for anybody willing to live with Shiro and Adam. Lance could see Keith’s closet from where he was, taking a mental note of how empty it was. A little under half of the clothes in the closet were still there, they all seemed ratty and too small for Keith to wear. Lance felt the lump form in his throat and a tear trickle down his cheek. He held Keith closer and let more tears escape his eyes.</p><p>Even though he’d never openly admit it, he was gonna miss Keith.</p><p>A lot.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>&lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Four Seasons Dead Fly By</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>oh boy happy-sad tiem</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>1. sorry for dying. my mental health has been literally horrible these past few months. i recently turned 15 and i hope u all had a merry xmas/happy hannukah/ happy kwanza (idk)<br/>2. this chapter does deal with the topic of depression so please keep that in mind<br/>3. endings rushed, im so sorry. i just felt liek i need to get this out asap<br/>4. THANKZ FOR ALMOST 1K READZZZZ AAAAA I HOPE THIS FIC GETZ BIG TToTT &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>[1 New Message - 11:24 PM]</p><p> </p><p>ronnieeee: hey loser</p><p> </p><p>Lance heard his phone buzz somewhere in the dark of his room and scrambled to go grab it, hoping it was whom he thought it was. The tall boy grabbed his phone from his nightstand and checked the notification. He frowned, feeling the familiar sinking feeling in his chest. His hopes immediately burnt to a crisp as he read the message. </p><p>It wasn't a text from Keith. </p><p> </p><p>Hell, when had it last been?</p><p> </p><p>He let out a deep sigh and opened the message and watched as the text bubble with three dots slowly moved, signifying that the person on the other end was typing. What did she want?</p><p> </p><p>ronnieeee: sooooo how u been????? :]</p><p> </p><p>Lance felt sick to his stomach.</p><p> </p><p>theonceler: what do u want veronica</p><p>ronnieeee: damm i would've thought u would greet me or summmm lmaoo<br/>ronnieeee: just checking in on u, wey. <br/>ronnieeee: pidge and hunk are worried about you. it's been 5 months since you've talked to them.</p><p> </p><p>He let that message sink in. It couldn't have been that long, right?</p><p> </p><p>ronnieeee: everything all right? </p><p> </p><p>Lance felt the sudden urge to cry. No, he wasn't all right. He hadn't been for so long. Ever since Keith left, he had been a mess. He started getting sick more often, he stopped going out as much, he was avoiding anybody and everybody. He wasn't in the right mind space. Keith was never online, they barely talked anymore. God, did he hate him now? Lance knew he wasn't the most loveable person but ouch. The thought of Keith alone was enough to make the heat prick at the corners of his eyes again. He swallowed the lump in his throat and blinked hard to shoo away the tears wanting to escape his eyes. </p><p>theonceler is typing...</p><p> </p><p>theonceler: no lol</p><p>ronnieeee: figured<br/>ronnieeee: is it cus of that boy?</p><p> </p><p>The memories he shared with Keith flashed in his brain as he read the message, finally giving up and letting the tears fall down his face like they did when Keith left.</p><p> </p><p>theonceler: yeah</p><p>ronnieeee is typing...</p><p> </p><p>What was she going to say? Was she going to mock him and make him feel stupid? Maybe even shrug it off and say she didn't care. No, Veronica would never. She was sweet. She actually cared...</p><p>His phone buzzed with a new message.</p><p> </p><p>ronnieeee: k send me yr address</p><p>theonceler: what????? why???????</p><p>ronnieeee: uhhhh cus yr sad?? n im in the area anyway so i wanna see u.</p><p>theonceler: dude my place is a mess rn<br/>theonceler: the last time i cleaned was god-knows-when.</p><p>ronnieeee: sucks. guess we'll just have to clean together<br/>ronnieeee: want anything from in n out?</p><p> </p><p>Lance felt a small spark of joy in him. He hadn't seen Veronica in 5 years so this was going to be new. Maybe she brought her girlfriend with her. He sat up from his bed and looked at his phone again with a sigh of defeat.</p><p> </p><p>theonceler: just a burger and a milkshake</p><p>ronnieeee: send me yr address n ill b there asap :] i think im like 10 min outside of long beach</p><p> </p><p>The tan boy sent his address and stumbled out of bed, feeling dizzy. He spent all day in bed- as he had started doing so in this depressive state of his. Lance slowly shuffled over to his mirror, looking at himself and feeling gross.</p><p>What a mess. He wasn't Lance anymore. </p><p>He was just a lazy potato sack now.</p><p>He lifted his oversized shirt a bit, he looked skinner than usual, that probably wasn't good. The blue in his eyes was faded, they just looked black now. His eyes were oddly sunken in now. He really needed to take care of himself again. When was the last time he even washed his face? Lance didn't know the answers to these things, all he knew is that Veronica was gonna chew him out. </p><p> </p><p>'5 years since we last saw eachother and you look like this? What happened to you?' her voice rang in his head and he could feel the heat prick at the corners of his eyes again. </p><p> </p><p>What would his mum think?</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Lance tried to ignore all these thoughts and shuffled over to his drawer, grabbing a pair of jeans he hadn't worn in forever. He had only been wearing sweatpants now. Lance cuffed the bottom of the pant legs and let out a sigh. He opened the door of his bedroom and walked out to his living room. It was eerily quiet except for the sound of the crashing waves and cars honking out on the rode coming from his balcony. </p><p>The tan boy made his way to the couch and began picking up some stuff. He really did leave this poor condo to collect dust. Lance put dirty clothes in a hamper and moved stuff from his couch, just trying to make it look presentable for his guest. </p><p>He spent a good 10 minutes cleaning. He finally did the dishes after what seemed like forever and even put on some music to feel better. Maybe his sister was his little spark of motivation he had needed for awhile. Maybe this random visit of hers wasn't going to be that bad. Almost as if his thoughts were answered, a slim, tan figure bursted through the door with three bags of food and a plastic bag from the gas station probably. </p><p> </p><p>"I'm home," Veronica hummed contently, looking around and seeing her brother in the kitchen. She stared at him for a second and Lance could feel the disappointment in her eyes.</p><p>Veronica simply sighed and furrowed her brows a bit, "So...you're not gonna say hi?"</p><p>Lance immediately snapped out of his trance and scrambled over to her, hugging her tightly with a heavy sigh.</p><p>His sister hugged him back just as tightly, laughing softly. “Oh my god, you’ve changed so much.” </p><p>The other just stayed silent. He really needed this hug. Despite all their bickering over the years, this was his only sister. He cared about her more than anything. This was the first hug he had gotten in what felt like forever. Lance didn't want to let go. He couldn't. He needed a hug so bad and now that he finally got it from one person who actually cared to reach out and see how he was doing, he wanted this to last forever. Veronica smiled softly and pat her twin's back, "Ok, you can let go, Lance," she chuckled, letting her arms go limp. Lance hesitantly let go, pulling away and admiring his sister. She still looked the same. Wavy hair, dumb glasses that always fell off her nose. She was a carbon copy of Lance, only more feminine. </p><p>Veronica crossed her arms and looked at her brother. Now he could feel her eyes looking him up and down and probably mentally judging him. Lance looked down at the floor and Veronica sighed, "Do you wanna talk about it?"</p><p>Lance stayed silent for what felt like forever. He needed to let it out to somebody, he couldn't keep these feelings all pent up. He looked up to his sister and swallowed a lump in his throat. "Where do I even begin?" he chuckled softly, his voice trembling a bit as he tried to remain as stable as possible. </p><p>And just like that, his sister grabbed the bags of food, her brother's arm and dragged them both to the couch not far from them. She practically threw Lance onto the couch, "From when you met this dude," Veronica smirked, getting comfy and facing her brother now. </p><p> </p><p>Suddenly, Lance felt a little better.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>XXX</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Lance was sobbing. He hadn’t told anybody the full story yet. Veronica was never good in these types of situations so she just pat her brother's back. First, he was kicked out and forced to live in a completely different state and then he fell in love, really bad. How was she supposed to comfort her own twin? Her twin that she was never there for in the first place? She found herself moving closer to hug him, giving him one of the tightest hugs she could ever provide. Lance needed it, he really did. </p><p>He sniffled and let out quiet sobs, "And here I am, crying like a little girl because I fell in <em>love.<em>" </em></em></p><p>
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    <em>Veronica shook her head gently, "Lance, it's ok to feel like this. You're human so it's natural," she reassured him.</em>
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    <em>She eventually pulled away from him, wiping his tears gently and frowning at him. Then, her face lit up. She cleared her throat, "Lance, I know this is a bit awkward but," Veronica started, "But Axca and I are..." she motioned to her hand which was now home to a beautiful titanium engagement ring.</em>
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    <em>Lance looked down at it and furrowed his brows, sniffling, "What does that have to do with what's wrong with me? You're only making me feel worse about not finding love," Lance's lower lip quivered, only feeling worse that his sister found true love and he couldn't.</em>
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    <em>"What I'm trying to say is that our wedding is going to be in Korea, Lance." </em>
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</p><p>
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    <em>Then it clicked.</em>
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    <em>No way could that be possible.</em>
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    <em>She had to be making this up.</em>
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    <em>She just had to.</em>
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    <em>"Axca grew up there and we wanted it to be special so that's where we're celebrating. This is a bit of a stretch- especially since he's ignoring you- but what if you went to visit him ?"</em>
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    <em>Lance could feel his heart stutter in his chest. There was no way she meant this, it all seemed too good to believe. His mind immediately started thinking of holding Keith in his arms again, kissing him one more time and smelling his cologne. If she was messing with him he was going to throw a tantrum.</em>
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    <em>"You're kidding...right ?"</em>
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    <em>Veronica just shook her head slowly with a soft grin.</em>
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    <em>Lance was never touchy with his sister but this day was an exception. He hugged her tight and sobbed into her shoulder, she held him tighter. The twins bathed in the silence for a bit, the only sounds being Lance's quiet sobs. This news made his night. He was more than happy that Veronica brought it up. </em>
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    <em>There was just one problem now.</em>
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    <em>Did Keith even want to see Lance?</em>
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    <em>If he really cared about him, he would at least bother to text him once every two days or so.</em>
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    <em>But even if Keith didn't want to see him,,,Lance had to go anyway. This was his twin's wedding. </em>
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    <em>"What part of Korea?"</em>
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    <em>Veronica thought for a minute and then remembered, "Jinhae. It's really pretty there. We were debating having our wedding in Cuba-" </em>
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    <em>Lance zoned out as his sister rambled. He didn't remember if Keith ever said where he was from but Jinhae sounded familiar. He had a strong feeling it was Seoul, though. So as long as he was away from the one person who didn't want to see him, he was ok, right? It would be best for both of them. It still wouldn't hurt to shoot Keith a text at least. Maybe the other had just been busy. Yeah, just busy. After all, time zones were funky to manage. </em>
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    <em>"Dude are you even listening?"</em>
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    <em>The tan boy snapped out of his trance and blinked at his sister, trying to think a bit. He smiled softly and let out a sigh, "I'll buy my tickets tonight, just tell me when it's gonna be." </em>
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    <em>She smiled back, her slightly crooked teeth giving him a sense of familiarity, "December 31st of this year." </em>
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    <em>"What? Dude that's in like two weeks. Do mum and dad already know?"</em>
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    <em>"I'm gonna tell them tomorrow, I have to drive back to Arizona at 3am. Axca fell asleep at Tio's place so I have to pick her up before heading back home." </em>
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    <em>Lance nodded, "Thanks for telling me, man."</em>
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    <em>"Dude, don't thank me for anything. You're my twin. It would literally be illegal to not invite you to my wedding," Veronica laughed, punching her brother's arm gently. "Even if your boyfriend doesn't wanna see you, you're still coming, right?" </em>
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</p><p>
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    <em>"Well duh. It'd be illegal if I didn't go, right?" he teased lightly.</em>
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    <em>The twins spent the rest of the night talking, watching a movie and staying up until Veronica had to go pick up Axca and head back to Arizona for the week. He said his goodbyes and walked her out the door of his apartment. Once she was gone, Lance was quick to grab his laptop, already looking for tickets. </em>
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    <em>There was a one-stop flight that would take him from LA to Seoul so that was the best he could do. All of the one-way flights were booked. There were no direct flights to Jinhae but he saw that Seoul was only a two hour drive from there. Yeah, he could plan this out, totally. Only problem was he didn't know even an ounce of Korean. Keith probably did… but why was it so hard to even think about texting him now? A part of him hoped Keith did miss him but the other knew he probably didn't. While his mind did not want to text Keith, his body had other plans. Lance's large tan hand slowly moved to grab his phone from the coffee table, it felt like he was moving in slow motion or under water. Hell, he couldn't even feel himself grab the phone. He sat back down and opened the chat. The last message from Keith was from about 4 days ago. </em>
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    <em>3:08am<br/>theonceler: morning lol</em>
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    <em>Keith felt his phone buzz in his pocket while he ate breakfast with his mum. It was 7 am for them in Korea so he wasn't really expecting a text from Lance. He practically choked on orange juice he drank, standing up rather quickly. Krolia looked up at him, concerned, "Everything ok?" Keith nodded, "Yeah, just uh- I just got a text."</em>
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</p><p>
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    <em>"Oh? From who?"</em>
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    <em>"Nobody important."</em>
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    <em>She shot her son an amused glare, "If it's nobody important, why did you react like that?" she teased.</em>
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    <em>Keith's face was red now, "I'll be back."</em>
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    <em>The pale boy walked to the bathroom and leaned against a wall, checking the message. They hadn't had a normal conversation in what felt like forever. He truly missed Lance, he really did, but it was hard to talk to him with these time zone differences. He said he was only going to stay for a month, but that seemed to be a lie. A big one at that. He left in May and it was already mid-december. He really missed the other. He missed his stupid vanilla scent and his dumb smirk and lame pickup lines… he missed it all. </em>
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    <em>No exceptions. He had to text back.</em>
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    <em>mothman: hey<br/>mothman: whats up? i didn't know you knew my timezone now lol</em>
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    <em>Lance's heart stuttered in his chest as his phone buzzed. They haven't had a normal conversation in forever. </em>
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    <em>theonceler: oh i dont lol<br/>theonceler: google is just a good helper </em>
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    <em>Keith could genuinely felt himself smile this time.</em>
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    <em>mothman: wishing i could say i'm surprised<br/>mothman: how have u been? told your mum about me yet?</em>
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    <em>theonceler: been ok. i heard u went away to discover yourself or something lol</em>
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    <em>mothman: i guess thats true. </em>
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    <em>theonceler: how have YOU been, joe jonas ?</em>
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</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>mothman: don't call me joe jonas</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>theonceler: r u taking that as an insult ??????<br/>theonceler: the nerve ugh</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Keith laughed, covering his smile with the sleep of his hoodie rather quickly. </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>mothman: was it supposed to be a compliment?</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>theonceler: uhh YES ???????<br/>theonceler: joe jonas is literally GORGEOUS<br/>theonceler: except u look like him when he was in camp rock<br/>theonceler: with the ugly v-neck and the dumb emo hair</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>mothman: i dont have emo hair, lance<br/>mothman: i'm not even emo.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>theonceler: you totally are</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>mothman: am not &gt;:/</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>theonceler: if you arent, why r u getting so defensive ;)</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>mothman: im not?</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>theonceler: stage one, denial<br/>theonceler: truly sad to see you lose yourself to this thing :(</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Keith laughed some more. God, what an idiot. He forgot about how fun their conversations were. </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>theonceler: sooo now that were finally talking<br/>theonceler: r u free ? on the 31st ? of this month ? </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Keith's eyes widened at the text and his brows furrowed, what was he going on about?</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>mothman: uhhh yeah?<br/>mothman: why, i may ask???</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>theonceler: no reason<br/>theonceler: i can give u a hint tho</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>mothman: shoot</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>theonceler: lets just say<br/>theonceler: i know of a person<br/>theonceler: and that person<br/>theonceler: is very close to me<br/>theonceler: and theyre having this lil thing<br/>theonceler: for new years eve<br/>theonceler: and uh</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>mothman: jesus, spit it out, lance.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>theonceler: okok fine<br/>theonceler: u killed the fun :(</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>mothman: if u dont tell me, i'll immediately become busy on the 31st</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>theonceler: u r cruel<br/>theonceler: fine<br/>theonceler: my sister and her fiance are getting married in jinhae.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>Keith could feel his heart stop, his lungs collapsed, his legs were jelly and his head had began spinning. Just the thought of seeing Lance again made him ill, but the good kind of ill. It was the nice butterflies in his stomach. He had to be joking.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>mothman: haha. very funny, lance.<br/>mothman: im not falling for it.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>theonceler: what ??? u think im lying ????</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>mothman: very much so, yeah.</em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>That text made Lance's blood boil just a bit. How could he lie about something like this? He was never one to lie unless it was for good- even <em>then<em> he was a horrible liar. He was quick to open his camera and snap a photo of him in the process of buying tickets from LA to Seoul. </em></em></em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>theonceler: so much for lying huh ?</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>mothman: oh my godnhjf</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>theonceler: thats what i thought<br/>theonceler: so u better get yr nicest suit<br/>theonceler: and be ready to party HARD.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>mothman: wheres it gonna be? </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>theonceler: jinhae. </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>mothman: i live in busan, im not that far<br/>mothman: so when are you coming exactly?</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>theonceler: leaving december 20th with my family. we're spending xmas there too so u better b ready</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>mothman: oh, im not big on christmas.<br/>mothman: i'll still tag along though. i'm not expecting gifts anyway</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>theonceler: im gonna have to change yr contact name to the grinch</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>mothman: just because i dont like christmas?</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>theonceler: exactly<br/>theonceler: how could u not ??</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>mothman: personal reasons<br/>mothman: it doesnt concern you</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>theonceler: right sorry lol<br/>theonceler: okok so you'll meet us in jinhae or should i pick u up from busan or ???</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>mothman: i can take the subway. it gets me there fast <br/>mothman: unless youre willing to drive two hours to come pick me up.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>theonceler: i mean im ok with it lol</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>mothman: u r truly a strange man, lance.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>theonceler: hmm am i ? :)</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>mothman: yeah lol</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>theonceler: u still love me dont u ? ;)</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>Keith's fingers went stiff before he could type. Did he really love Lance? Or was it just a small crush? Who was he kidding, he was in love. Deeply in love. Lance was his world, he couldn't stop thinking about him even if he wanted to. Just a text from Lance brightened his day, even if they didn't text for a while. He let out a shaky breath that shook his ribcage, finally gaining the courage to type.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>mothman: i dunno. guess youll have to see for yourself when you come over. </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>theonceler: consider it a challenge ;)<br/>theonceler: im gonna head out. its like 3am lmao</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>mothman: dude go to sleep.<br/>mothman: dont u have work?</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>theonceler: ehhh<br/>theonceler: i guess ???<br/>theonceler: i havent rlly gone lmao</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>Keith's heart shattered.</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>mothman: why? </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>theonceler: i dunno lol<br/>theonceler: pidge and hunk havent texted u have they ?</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>Of course they had. They kept asking if he had heard from Lance, asking if he knew what was wrong with Lance, just wanting to make sure at least somebody knew. They told him everything. Everything from his sudden fragile emotions to his depressive, unmotivated, self-destructive state. Everything. Keith was worried about him but he barely got the time to check in on him. Keith hated himself for that, he wasn't going to forgive himself for not being there when Lance needed him the most. </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>mothman: no. just little check-ins to see if im doing ok</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>theonceler: ohh k lol<br/>theonceler: ok, im gonna head out fr <br/>theonceler: byeee stinkyy</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>mothman: take care, lance. keep me updated ok?</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>theonceler: sure will ;)</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>XXX</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>December 21st, 2020</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"So, tell me more about this loverboy you're seeing today?"</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"Well, I don't know when he's arriving."</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"But you know it's today or something."</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"Yeah. That's what he told me."</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"When did he say he was leaving?"</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"December 20th- California time."</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"Oh so he should be leaving right now or something."</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"I guess so."</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"Where's he staying? You both can share a room in the apartment. He is your boyfriend after all."</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"Mom, he's not my boyfriend."</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>Krolia tilted her head and looked at her son as they ate breakfast, "So what was that kiss all about? The one you told me about."</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"I don't know, ok? It was just in the heat of the moment," Keith groaned, growing flustered. Him and Lance had talked about what was going to happen between them once he left, but he never thought about how it would be once they saw each other again. They had settled on just staying friends for a while since both of them knew it would be hard to keep a long distance relationship. "I don't wanna talk about it…" Keith murmured. Krolia just sent him a sweet smile. </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>"I'll always be here for you, ok?" she reassured him, "Boy problems or not."</em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>That made Keith's stomach churn. She wasn't <em>always<em> there for him, he was still scared that she was going to disappear again anytime soon. Although she had swore to stay with him, it still lingered in the back of his head. </em></em></em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>
          <em>
            <em>"Are you picking him up from the airport or something?"</em>
          </em>
        </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>
          <em>
            <em>Keith shook his head, "He's landing in Seoul, I'm going to Jinhae for Christmas."</em>
          </em>
        </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>
          <em>
            <em>"What?" Krolia genuinely seemed shocked, "My, my. Look at you, Mr. Grinch. Since when did you like Christmas?" she teased him lightly with a sweet laugh.</em>
          </em>
        </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>
          <em>
            <em>The pale boy's face quickly turned a bright red. "I still don't like it, ok? Lance just kinda...peer pressured me into meeting his family before the wedding…"</em>
          </em>
        </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>
          <em>
            <em>Now Krolia was intrigued, "Keith, are you getting married?"</em>
          </em>
        </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>
          <em>
            <em>"Oh my <em>god<em>," he groaned, getting up from his chair, "I'm going back to sleep."</em></em></em>
          </em>
        </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>
          <em>
            <em>
              <em>
                <em>The older lady hummed, "Rest up, kiddo. I wanna see Loverboy Lance again. He seemed like a nice kid," from what she could remember, Lance <em>did<em> like to flirt with Keith shamelessly. He proved that by doing it in front of her as well.</em></em></em>
              </em>
            </em>
          </em>
        </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>
          <em>
            <em>
              <em>
                <em>
                  <em>
                    <em>Keith shuffled to his room in the little apartment he shared with his mum, spreading his limbs evenly amongst his bed and staring at the ceiling. He let out a heavy sigh and swallowed a lump in his throat. He was just hours from seeing Lance again. He was ecstatic, he was anxious, he was happy, but deep down, he was terrified. Keith kind of ghosted the other after he moved over here. Not because he wanted to, but because it was just harder to keep in touch with anybody, really. Keith grew up in America, everybody he knew was in America and meanwhile, he lived on the other side of the planet now, away from his only fatherly figure, away from somebody he really  <em>really<em> liked and away from a shitty little city that truly made him happy.</em></em></em>
                  </em>
                </em>
              </em>
            </em>
          </em>
        </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>
          <em>
            <em>
              <em>
                <em>
                  <em>
                    <em>
                      <em>
                        <em>As soon as he was getting comfortable, there was a knock at the door and Keith groaned. "Hey kiddo, can you go open it?" Krolia asked her son, audibly doing the dishes.</em>
                      </em>
                    </em>
                  </em>
                </em>
              </em>
            </em>
          </em>
        </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>
          <em>
            <em>
              <em>
                <em>
                  <em>
                    <em>
                      <em>
                        <em>Keith frowned and got out of bed, going over to the door. Normally, Keith would have checked who was there through the peephole but he was exhausted. He swung the door open and looked at the person standing in his doorway, right in front of him. The man had a suitcase, he was wearing a large puffy jacket, pajama pants and overall dressed in winter attire, like what you would see somebody wearing in New York during Christmas. Keith blinked hard and the face registered through his sleepy brain, his eyes welling with tears now.</em>
                      </em>
                    </em>
                  </em>
                </em>
              </em>
            </em>
          </em>
        </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>
          <em>
            <em>
              <em>
                <em>
                  <em>
                    <em>
                      <em>
                        
                      </em>
                    </em>
                  </em>
                </em>
              </em>
            </em>
          </em>
        </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>
          <em>
            <em>
              <em>
                <em>
                  <em>
                    <em>
                      <em>
                        <em>"Lance,,?" Keith choked out softly, his eyes big and glassy now.</em>
                      </em>
                    </em>
                  </em>
                </em>
              </em>
            </em>
          </em>
        </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>
          <em>
            <em>
              <em>
                <em>
                  <em>
                    <em>
                      <em>
                        
                      </em>
                    </em>
                  </em>
                </em>
              </em>
            </em>
          </em>
        </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>
          <em>
            <em>
              <em>
                <em>
                  <em>
                    <em>
                      <em>
                        <em>The male grinned, removing the face mask he had on and feeling his eyes start to well with tears as well. </em>
                      </em>
                    </em>
                  </em>
                </em>
              </em>
            </em>
          </em>
        </em>
      </em>
    </em>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <em>
      <em>
        <em>
          <em>
            <em>
              <em>
                <em>
                  <em>
                    <em>
                      <em>
                        
                      </em>
                    </em>
                  </em>
                </em>
              </em>
            </em>
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                        <em>"Hey man," Lance's voice broke, wearing the happiest smile as a tear fell down his cheek.</em>
                      </em>
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</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>;)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. authorz note :]</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>hi lol</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>hi, im rexsboy (duh) the author of this fic. </p><p>yeah, i know. i havent updated, sue me or bully me or sumthing T_T </p><p>a lot has happened these past few months, i got the virus, ive been losing friendz and my mental health has plumetted lol</p><p>i swear im working on a new chapter with a bit of help from my best friend and all. i plan to have this new chapter out after the fic's one year anniversay (bruhh thatz fucking wild, ive been working on this for liek a year almost). </p><p>anyway, thankz for checking in ! again, really really sorry to let you down with just a little filler/update and not an actualy chapter T_T im really working on it. </p><p>if you have any questionz, commentz or concernz abt the fic, dont hesitate to comment or contact me ! i luv to hear from u all ! new concept art for the fic should b coming out on my instagram pretty soon so herez the shameless self promo smh</p><p>insta - ieatsoupwithaspork<br/>twitter - pxninii<br/>tumblr - paninipresser</p><p>again, i literally cannot stress how thankful i am for you guyz sticking around and being super incredibly patient with this fic aaaa and thANK U SO MUCH FOR 1.2K READZ THATZ SO WILD HHHHH</p><p>okok, this is me signing off, ill be back with the new and final chapter veryyyy soon :] thank u again soo much and ill catch u on the flip side lolz</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>a quarantine story i'll probably forget about in a few months</p></blockquote></div></div>
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